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By:
Kristi Holl,
on 12/1/2010
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Even if you didn’t participate in this year’s November National Novel Writing Month, you can still have access to their NaNoWriMo pep talks that were sent throughout November to participants. Many of them are excellent!
Here’s what it says on their website: “We recruited an all-star team of authors to share their advice and thoughts on writing. Their pep talks will be emailed to participants throughout November. We hope their insight and encouragement help you on your way!”
Here you’ll find pep talks from some of the finest and best-selling writers of our time. Some are serious nuts-and-bolts advice talks while others are tongue-in-cheek funny. Either way, they’re an encouragement to those of us who are challenged on a regular basis with our writing.
Here are a few quotes to whet your appetite:
From Chris Baty: “Incite change. If your story is losing momentum, juice it up by inflicting some major changes on your characters. Crash the spaceship. End the marriage. Buy the monkey. Change is scary because we have to figure out what comes next. But feeling afraid is ten times better than feeling bored, and your book will benefit from your risk-taking. Go big this week! You won’t regret it.”
From Aimee Bender: “What we hold in our heads before we write is RARELY in sync with what shows up on the page, and if I were standing and saying this in front of you with a megaphone, I would say this next part especially loud and clear: The Page is All We Get. What shows up on the page? Well, that is your writing. The full-blown perfectly-whole concept you may have in your head? Is just thought.”
From Holly Black: “Here are some things I wish someone had told me when I was writing my first book. I want to say them to you in the hopes they will help and encourage you. Even if you’ve heard them before, it doesn’t hurt to be reminded.” And then she follows this with seven tips that are right on the money.
From Lindsey Grant: “You’ve been carrying around a story for a while now and you finally started writing it. Getting started is hard enough, but then you went on to write for a full week, bringing your story to life and making your noveling dream a reality. You’re well on your way, writer, and you have come so far already! Don’t let your inner editor convince you that this isn’t worth your time, or that you should start over, or-even worse-that you should start over some other time. For this novel there is no “later.” There is only now.”
From John Green: “All of us harbor secret hopes that a magnificent novel will tumble out of the sky and appear on our screens, but almost universally, writing is hard, slow, and totally unglamorous.”
From Mercedes Lackey: “I can’t think of anything more intimidating than a blank page. Especially the firs
Every now and then I attend workshops in which I am forced to write for three minutes from a prompt that draws virtually no story from me. Such prompts can take the form of a bunch of unrelated words that should never appear in the same novel let alone on the same page like “chrysalis, gun powder, athlete’s foot, schizophrenia and acidophilus.” Or they can be an unlikely premise such as, “A fire ravishes your apartment building. You are the only survivor and are forced to take custody of your deceased neighbor’s pet aardvark.”
I write my heart out. I really do. For three full minutes, I am convinced that my banter with my new aardvark is pitch perfect. That I’ve made a strong case for an OTC athlete’s foot medication (made from gun powder, acidophilus and the chrysalis of a rare African butterfly), which has been discovered to cure schizophrenia. I think, “See Kirsten – you should push yourself more often. Look how talented you are!”
And then we have to read aloud.
This is the point when it becomes obvious that my classmates have seen this prompt before – that I’m the only one who didn’t cheat. Because what they read is good. They have fresh imagery, innovative symbolism and three-syllable verbs. Some of them receive applause. I, on the other hand, get a reaction only from my teacher. And it’s usually delivered two octaves above her normal voice. “…Interesting….OK…Who has another?”
I wish I could blame the prompts. But the truth is, my first drafts have historically been terrible. That is, until I attended a prompt-free workshop that suggested the Rule of Ten (which I believed was first created by John Vorhaus, but lots of people have ripped it off as I’m doing now, so I can’t be sure).
The idea is that for every one great idea a writer has, he has nine crummy ones.
Your first several ideas are usually cliché — you’ve plagiarized from books or movies without even knowing it. So every time you have to make a decision, write out ten ideas. Your only decent idea should be somewhere near the end.
I am not kidding when I say this saves me hours of revision in each scene. I use this technique on almost every page to decide anything from defining character motivation to determining who goes in a scene to choosing setting.
Do you have any tricks to write a better first draft? Please share it in the comments.
P.S. I know this is technically only one technique and not ten as the title insinuates (but does not promise if you read closely!). But Barbara of Writing Time just taught me that the easiest way to get a reader’s attention is to put a number in the headline and I wanted to try my new trick. The number one just didn’t impress. Question is – did it work?
10 Comments on 10 Steps to Improving your First Draft, last added: 4/28/2010
By: Martha Alderson, M.A.,
on 12/1/2009
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Welcome to the 2nd Annual International Plot Writing Month
Today begins a month-long opportunity to craft a draft of your writing into a story.
If you participated in NaNoWriMo, first take time to congratulate yourself! You've done what many have talked and dreamed of doing -- you've written an entire story from beginning to end. Celebrate!
Next, craft the project into a coherent piece worthy of publication.
During December, take the steps needed to analyze what you've written and brainstorm for an effortless draft two in January '10.
Revision your project before actually rewriting the manuscript. (This also works for writers without a first draft. Whether you merely have an idea for a story, a few chapters or scenes, just tweak the assignments to make them work for wherever you are in the process.)
Everyday this month, I'll provide plot tips and tricks and inspiration.
No writing required.
Following are a couple of caveats for our month together:
1) Do NOT show anyone what you've written so far. The first draft of any writing project is considered the generative phase. At the end of the generative phase, a writer is often faced with a manuscript full of holes and missteps, confusion and chaos. This is part of the process in that editing and/or an unbridled internal critic in the generative phase risks stifling the muse, which often results in stagnation.
Your first draft is a fragile thread of a dream. You know what you want to convey, well, maybe and sort of. Few writers can adequately communicate a complete vision in the first draft of a story, especially when writing by the seat of your pants. Allow others to read your writing now and you risk losing energy for your story and becoming overwhelmed by the task ahead of you.
2) Do NOT read what you've written. I know, I know. You're anxious to read your hard work. However, the longer you give yourself before actually reading your first draft, the better. If you read your manuscript now, you're still close enough to the work that you'll automatically fill in the gaps. Give yourself distance first. This allows you to read your work more objectively later.
Let's get started!
By now, you know who the protagonist of your story is. Stories are about character transformation. The character who is transformed by the dramatic action in your story is your protagonist. Fill out the following for your protagonist. If the major antagonist in your story is a person, fill out the following for that character as well. If you have more than one point of view character, fill out the form for that/those characters, too.
CHARACTER EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFILE
Character’s name:
Dramatic Action Plotline
Overall story goal:
What stands in her way:
What does she stand to lose:
Character Emotional Development Plotline
Flaw:
Strength:
Hates:
Loves:
Fears:
Dream:
Secret:
Good l
The Middle (cont.)
Consider the "middle" of the Middle of your story.
The scenes in the middle of the Middle of a story often line up looking like below. So long as the unusual and/or exotic world is intriguing and mysterious and fascinating enough, you're in good shape. By the time the reader is at the middle of the Middle she has surrendered to the dream you've created. The story and the characters have actually replaced parts of the reader's world and become real for her.
The early Middle and middle of the Middle are the honeymoon stage. The reader likes the character as revealed so far. The reader wants to hang out with the story and the characters. The middle of the Middle the protagonist is still on her best behavior -- relative to her and her alone.
Eventually, later, closer to the 3/4 mark and when the Crisis hits, the character opens up more and more to the reader as the stakes rise higher and higher. Under pressure, the protagonist reveals who she really is, flaws and all.
But, that's for later. For now, here, in the middle of the Middle, the character has settled a bit into the new world and no longer feels so much like a fish out of water. She begins to catch on to the rules of the new world.
In other words, the story can slow down a bit here (keep in mind, however, a sort of major shift or "hit" usually occurs at the exact 1/2 of the entire page count mark.)
Homework:
- Continue to plot out your scenes on the Middle of your Plot Planner
- Research the unusual world for authentic details. Take notes for your next draft.
- Consider how the Middle and the End work together. What in the Middle is contributing to the overall character transformation of your protagonist at the End?
- How many of the following antagonists** are you using to create conflict, tension, and suspense. The antagonists must arise out of the story itself and contribute to the overall meaning or thematic significance of your story overall. (If you do not know the thematic significance statement for your story, continue the exercises on: Day Four and Day Seven.)
**Antagonist List
Other people: friends, family, lover, co-workers, boss, children
Nature: flooding, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, freezing temperatures, drought
Machine: anything mechanical or electronic
Society: rules, laws, customs, traditions, expectations, religious institutions, dogma
God: spiritual beliefs
Self: flaw, hatred, prejudice, fears, past mistakes
By: Martha Alderson, M.A.,
on 12/1/2008
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Welcome!
Today begins a month-long opportunity to craft a draft of your writing into a story.
First, take time to congratulate yourself! You've done what many have talked and dreamed of doing -- you've written an entire story from beginning to end. Celebrate!
Next, craft the project into a coherent piece worthy of publication. During December, take the steps needed to analyze what you've written and brainstorm for an effortless draft two in January '09. Revision your project before actually rewriting the manuscript.
Everyday this month, I'll provide tips and tricks and inspiration.
No writing required.
Following are a couple of caveats for our month together:
1) Do NOT show anyone what you've written so far. The first draft of any writing project is considered the generative phase. At the end of the generative phase, a writer is often faced with a manuscript full of holes and missteps, confusion and chaos. This is part of the process in that editing and/or an unbridled internal critic in the generative phase risks stifling the muse, which often results in stagnation.
Your first draft is a fragile thread of a dream. You know what you want to convey, well, maybe and sort of. Few writers can adequately communicate a complete vision in the first draft of a story, especially when writing by the seat of your pants. Allow others to read your writing now and you risk losing energy for your story and becoming overwhelmed by the task ahead of you.
2) Do NOT read what you've written. I know, I know. You're anxious to read your hard work. However, the longer you give yourself before actually reading your first draft, the better. If you read your manuscript now, you're still close enough to the work that you'll automatically fill in the gaps. Give yourself distance first. This allows you to read your work more objectively later.
Let's get started!
By now, you know who the protagonist of your story is. Stories are about character transformation. The character who is transformed by the dramatic action in your story is your protagonist. Fill out the following for your protagonist. If the major antagonist in your story is a person, fill out the following for that character as well. If you have more than one point of view character, fill out the form for that/those characters, too.
CHARACTER EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFILE
Character’s name:
Dramatic Action Plotline
Overall story goal:
What stands in her way:
What does she stand to lose:
Character Emotional Development Plotline
Flaw:
Strength:
Hates:
Loves:
Fears:
Dream:
Secret:
Good luck! And remember, as tempting as it is, do NOT read your first draft. That will come later. For now, use what you know about your characters to fill out the form.
By:
Scribe Chronicler of Aventar,
on 10/9/2007
Blog:
LadyStar
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“The Prologue for the Varcarel Jade story was published, and so now we got two pages on the web comic site!”
“Okay, so like how do you get from one page to the next?”
“There are ‘Previous Page’ and ‘Next Page’ links at the bottom of each page.”
“Sweet! Bonus update action, folks! Have fun!”
“Ja!”
By:
Scribe Chronicler of Aventar,
on 10/7/2007
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“Talitha-chan helped me fix my e-mail page so we got Jessie’s Letters working again. If you have questions or comments or just wanna say ‘Hi Jessie!’ you can go to my super-neat Jessie’s Letters page to send us e-mail!”
“We love to answer questions about our stories or the site or our events.”
“Don’t forget to vote! We want to hear what you think. Left side, red box. We out.”
“Ja!”
By:
Scribe Chronicler of Aventar,
on 10/3/2007
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“We got a LadyStar champ too and his name is Michael!”
“Yep, aced it. Five for five.”
“Now Talitha-chan gots all the answers ’cause she’s the smartest girl in our whole school! Did you know that Talitha-chan has a computer that she programmed all by herself? She even showed me how to make unicorns my wallpaper on my computer time at school!”
“She’s programmer girl.”
“Hi Jessica. Hi Ranko.”
“Okay what were all the answers so we can make our quiz all official and stuff?”
“Okay for question one, wildflowers grow alongside the walkway at your house.”
“Right! My mom loves her wildflowers.”
“Question Two, Cici found the Chronicler’s Lantern in Collins Park near the topiary and statues of forest animals. The closest statue was a deer.”
“Good thing Little Bit found that lantern or the Ajan Warriors would have been sunk pretty quick.”
“I know the third one! Our band room is number 74! I know that ’cause I almost got lost on the first day and Dr. Strings helped me find it. He’s a nice man. I want to take science classes where he’s the teacher ’cause he knows lots of stuff about science.”
“Question Four, we found the Goldenwood Shield in the Venom Deeps in talisman form.”
“Then the Professor got the POWA and zap zap zappity! The baddies were toast.”
*giggle*
“Question Five, The LadyStar fought the Vulture Crest at a place called Kulnas Forge.”
“Yeah, that dream was super scary too.”
“There you have it folks. We’re going to do quizzes for all of our Ten Update days, so if you missed this one, study up, read all the chapters and you’ll be ready for the next one. Maybe you can be a LadyStar champ!”
“Yeah! Ja ne minna-san!”
“Oh, and don’t forget to VOTE! Over there on the left side of all pages at the top. Only takes a second. We’d like to hear what you think!”
By:
Scribe Chronicler of Aventar,
on 9/28/2007
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And it shall come to pass
that a gentle voice shall be heard
in the Golden Wood
Telling tales of wonder
and guarded by the Living Forest
“Let’s hear it for the PROFESSOR!”
“Woohoo!”
“It’s Talitha-chan! And she’s got some of the bestest powers of all. Her treasure is the Goldenwood Shield, which is the only treasure that we got that’s actually alive just like a real tree!”
“In Palace in the Sky, Hayashi fought that demon in the Venom Deeps that was casting fire spells at us.”
“But the Warrior of the Forest can call on plants and trees to fight for her and she zapped those baddies for us. Tough fight.”
“I think she’s going to get some new powers in Call of the Huntress too, and one of them is called ‘Autumn Canopy.’”
“Ooh, that’s a pretty name. I wonder what it does?”
“So go check out Forest Girl’s page and get all attuned with flowers and gardens and all that good stuff. Say a few words, Professor.”
“She’s real shy and stuff, but Talitha-chan is our best friend and we’re glad she’s a warrior just like us! Ja ne minna-san!”
By:
Scribe Chronicler of Aventar,
on 9/28/2007
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LadyStar
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“I think there’s lots of people who come to our site and want to learn all about LadyStar but they get confused ’cause we have so much stuff going on!”
“I know I get confused and I’ve been here for a while now.”
zzzzzzz….
“Do you realize Hikousen’s been asleep for six years?”
“Heheee.. he’s our guard kitty.”
“Okay, do the update. You guys always run off on these crazy tangents and we never get the update done.”
“Okay Alanna-sama. We’re gonna tell you all about a page that new people might not know about ’cause it’s a click that Talitha-chan put in the site instead of in our menu which we don’t have any more.”
“And if you understood that, you are WAY more mentally focused than me, because my brain just turned into mashed potatoes.”
“See, looky! This is one of our buttons, and it’s on all of our articles no matter where they are on our whole site. It’s the red heart button with our logo and it’s called the Crimson Thunder Heart logo. This is what it looks like:”
“Clicking that button will always take you to our What is LadyStar? page, which will give you a good introduction to our site and our story.”
“If you look on the left column under the poll question we got right now…”
“don’t forget to VOTE!”
“Yeah! Anyway, there’s four book covers in the left side column. Those are all of our books, and when you click on them you get to read them for free right here on our site. We did that ’cause we want everyone to read our stories and join in all our neat adventures!”
“So if you’re new to our site, welcome to LadyStar and be sure to read the What is LadyStar? page. Then you can jump right in to our stories. We just got through updating the Call of the Huntress Preview Page (which is my book *happy dance*), with all six of our current previews of the third book in our series. The first two books are complete and published and you can read them all for free.”
“See you all in the story, folks. Ten Update Friday continues! Don’t miss out!”
By:
Scribe Chronicler of Aventar,
on 9/27/2007
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“Updated the Winterdancer Page too.”
“Awesome. I love that chapter with the bang, pow, zap. I can’t wait until we get our powers. We’re going to have some great battles.”
“Yeah, we had a bit of a disagreement. If you like combat action, you’ll probably like this preview called Valor of the Winterdancer.”
“Alanna-sama’s the Winterdancer, ’cause that’s her title of lore when she gets all her neat powers. Did you know the Warrior of the River’s powers are all from snow and ice? It even says so on her warrior page! Looky!”
The Ajan Warrior of the River
By:
Scribe Chronicler of Aventar,
on 9/27/2007
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“Okay, Hayashi and me fixed the Call of the Huntress page, and we got all of the links linked and the pages where they’re supposed to be.”
“Goody, ’cause I wanna read more about Shannon-sama and her big magical kitty cat named Kishi. There’s six previews now, huh?”
“Yes, and they’re all linked from the Call of the Huntress Preview Page. The four-part Plot Against the Vicereine Story is linked together as well, so you can read all four parts in sequence.”
“Sweet.”
Don’t worry, if you ever need someone to do worse than you in prompt writing – invite me. I’m horrible at it – and my lack of interest in it doesn’t help either.
And actually, I think the 10 in the title did work.
I like the idea of thinking of ten ideas just to get one good one. Thanks for sharing with us!
I agree with Jaydee, I think the 10 subconsciously pulled me in, too. Of course, upon re-reading, the whole title is good.
As usual, an amusing and insightful piece from you. I also dislike prompt exercises, but I have got some really good results/ideas from them, including ones that have led to short story ideas, scenes or descriptions to use in my books. Though I think acidophilus or aardvark (what is that?) might be hard. I can relate to being with a group that is already expert in this as, when I was a beginning writer, I joined a very snooty group that responded to prompts with seamless pieces vs. my crummy ones, but that is where I learned how to write an original three-minute response. So much as you may dread them or the group, stick with them. You’ll only get better.
I’d say not to worry about “the shitty first draft.” Just keep going, get it out, and revise the next. I don’t agree that first drafts are usually cliche or plagiarized. Many would-be writers are brimming with new ideas, but they don’t know how to write them in fresh, non-cliche language. I’d say write them, even if they are cliche, and then make them “your own” in a subsequent draft. Or if the Rule of Ten works for you or for others hung up with finding a fresh idea or a way to express it, then that is very sound advice.
My only tip, and I assume it only works for me, is to think as little as possible while writing. I find that turning the brain off can be a benefit, since we tend to get ourselves in trouble when we try too hard. Thinking leads to doubt, and once we doubt one thing in our draft, the whole thing is built on a shaky platform.
Yes, the 10 worked.
I am just like you on prompts. My writers brain tends to balk when told what to write, but I think I need to challenge that, which is why I signed up for Merrilee Faber’s workshop. We’ll see what happens.
Ten ideas, huh? I don’t really do the SFD thing. I edit as I write, so my first draft is never a “just get it down” one. I think my continuous editing is a version of the ten-step thing. It would not be uncommon that a well-formed sentence in my work has gone through 9 previous edits.
LOL! I was actually more interested in the ‘Improving Your First Draft’ part of the title. Anything to avoid a long and arduous editing session on the second draft!!
My first draft is always a nasty, rough hooligan that needs to be arrested, put through rehabilitation, and then, and only then, be allow out into the world.
I don’t even call my first draft a draft, really. I call it a “first telling,” where I am telling the story the first time, and I may ramble in spots where I am spewing out setting information, gloss over details that aren’t coming to me at the time, and so on. Only once I have let that sit for a while do I come back and polish it and then and only then call it a first draft. The first draft is more coherent, the details have been pulled out and/or culled, and text has been moved around to where it better belongs.
If I ever hard you a story and at the top left corner it reads “3rd,” remember that its really my second draft, but the third telling.
I like that idea!
The combination of 10 & Steps is what got me! I’m one of those freakish people that plan it all out first. I go by the formula I designed that works best for my thinking type and THEN write the first draft. I didn’t always do this, as the novel I am re-writing was the ONE that I decided to fly by the seat of my pants — NEVER AGAIN!
Also, like Linda I am editing as I go this time. Since I already have the entire plot structure and landscape of my novel in front of me – yes I have a scene board- I can focus more on how I want to present the story and wrangle my characters by making sure they are true to themselves in action and in speech. I have to exert no effort wondering where the story is going, or rushing to get the thoughts down before they flee.
Granted, I probably take much longer to write a story than most people, but hey, it works for me.
Like I said, I’m the freakish planner type.
Whenever I sit down to write, I just plain get out what’s on my mind. I try not to worry too much about its quality. Then I reread it and make it better.
Worrying to much before I start would put a halt to my desire to write.
I really need to do more writing. I’ve been bogged down with my blog. I miss those times when I wrote just to be writing; practice does make perfect.
It is very easy to resort to cliches when we first get our thoughts down. Then it’s fun to romp away from the usual and into the creative and unique quality that’s our own.
Numbers are eye-catching. They draw us like magnets. Oops that’s a cliche! Numbers draw us near like the scent of chocolate.