The book your book could be

I don't know about you guys, but lately I've been reading a lot of different books that seem to rely on elements that are heavily important in my own WIP.

I'm not saying that these books are anything actually like my WIP. Because they're not. Really. But there are similarities that are easy enough for me to notice. Maybe they take place in a desert or maybe the main character gets debilitating headaches. Either way, reading a book like that is kind of a glimpse into the book my book could be.

And it freaks me out.

Every published book has something good to it--something that makes people like it and makes them want to buy it. So a lot of the time, when I'm reading these kinds of books, I lose all perspective. It goes something like this:

Hey, this is kinda similar to my book. Cool.
He/she/it wrote my book! D:<
And he/she/it wrote it better than me~!
And he/she/it is published!
Why am I not published?!
*cries in a corner*

See? Completely irrational. I mean, it's not like I've even queried or anything. Of course I'm not published yet.

Unfortunately, my sense of melodrama tends to stick around until I finish reading the book. It's difficult to be rational and remember why I love my book when I'm in the middle of being seduced by another.

So I guess I just wanted to remind everyone: don't be irrational about your WIP, especially when it comes to published books. Your WIP might be like something, but it's not that thing. It will never be that thing--your story will be brilliant and sparkling all by itself. So don't go changing your writing in response to similar books, okay? That would be stupid, because you should always be writing what you want to write.

Now that the PSA is out of the way, tell me, how do you feel when you read published books that share an element with your own WIP? Do you take as a challenge to write something similar, but better? Or do you have a mini-meltdown like me? Tell me in the comments!

How to find yourself some CPs

Last Monday I talked all about alpha readers, critique partners, and beta readers. I also promised that I'd tell you guys how to find people to fulfill those roles in your life . . . and today is that day.

Now, the answer is quite simple: just make some friends. These are the people who are going to be honest about your writing, who are going to cheer you up and cheer you on, who are going to help you the most. Maybe you just want an acquaintance, but I definitely suggest a friend.

But let's get down to business:

Where to go

1. If you're determined to know your editing partners in person, try a local writing group. You can meet people via NaNoWriMo or in writing classes too.
2. There's also the standard online methods to meet people. Check out writing blogs and there is an impressive writing community just waiting to chat with you on Twitter.
3. Go to reputable writing forums like Verla Kay's Blue Boards and Nathan Bransford's forums
4. There are a ton of social writing websites that are great places to meet other serious writers. Some good examples are Inkpop, Book Country, Figment, and FictionPress. Goodreads is mostly for readers, but you're likely to find some writers prowling about.
5. There is also the super specialized Ladies Who Critique. It's essentially a dating website for finding critique partners, and despite the name, people of both genders are welcome.

What to look for

1. The kind of person who can be what you need. Different writers need help with different things, so make sure to find CPs that you're compatible with. The best way to test this is to trade pages with someone (say, 50 pages) and see if you like each other's critiquing style.
2. Someone who can separate personal and professional. Critiquing isn't about hurting each other, or reacting poorly to fair criticism.
3. A friend. It helps to know someone and respect someone. Like I said earlier, this isn't super necessary . . . or maybe even what you want . . . but it's definitely a perk. I mean, you'll get to read their awesome writing too!

So how does that sound? Have you used any of these methods to find an alpha reader, a critique partner, or a beta reader? Better yet, do you have any further recommendations for those of us who have been on the hunt? If so, tell me in the comments! 

Alphas, CPs, and betas

So, the last time I got to go to a writing meeting with my Idaho Falls peeps, I got to do a presentation of different types of editing partners. It was thrilling. But since I typed up all that information anyway, I figured I might as well share it with you guys too.

Now, before we get into the meat of the post, you just need to remember that, unfortunately, this terminology is a little interchangeable (particularly CPs and beta readers). I'm just giving you my interpretation. Okay?

Alpha Readers

• What are they?
  Alpha readers are the people you give chapters to while you're in the middle of writing your manuscript. They're all about mid-draft idea bouncing and morale boosting.
• Why do you need them?
  Alpha readers are kinda rare, but that's because many people don't need one. They're the cheerleaders of the writing world--the people who give you a push to keep writing or offer you a second opinion early on.
• Who should you look for?
  An alpha reader can be anyone, though spouses are pretty good. The general idea is that your alpha reader isn't going to critique you on anything, so don't expect your hardcore critique partners to be alpha readers.
• So who are your alpha readers?
  Boyfriend and Kirstin. Boyfriend has some magical brainstorming powers and Kirstin is very good at not letting me fall into a vortex of despair and self-loathing.

Critique Partners

• What are they?
  Critique partners are the hard-hitters. They read your finished drafts, make all sort of edits, and help you determine what needs to be changed. These are the people who know your story as well as you do, love your characters to death, and will help you succeed.
• Why do you need them?
  You are biased towards your story. Critique partners are not. They are the voice of reason and can help you make objective editing decisions.
• Who should you look for?
  A writer who is a) not afraid to tell you when something sucks OR rocks, b) who is capable of separating professional and personal, and c) will not let you get away with anything subpar. Past that, everyone wants something different in a critique partner. Maybe you need a male CP to help you tweak your male POV, or someone who can understand your characters' motivations better than you can. Every writer has different strengths and weaknesses, so you and your CPs should compliment each other.
• So who are your critique partners?
  Well, the lovely Brenna for one. And Daniel and I have been talking about trading pages. However, past that, no one yet. :) I'm definitely interesting in chatting with any interested parties . . . though be warned, I'm a super slow editor and am nowhere near ready for, well, anything.

Beta Readers

• What are they?
  Beta readers are the final step of the editing process. After you've edited your manuscript into the grave, it's good to let some fresh eyes take a look. These are the people who will check your manuscript for readability and consistency.
• Why do you need them?
  They haven't read your manuscript before, so they don't have outside knowledge and they aren't attached to any previous versions of it. Thus, they're representative of an actual reader, which is important.
• Who should you look for?
  You want someone that likes to read. That's all that's really needed, though fellow writers are always good at paying careful attention to story elements.
• So who are your beta readers?
  Uhh, good question. I don't really have any now. I might hit up my NaNoWriMo group or do a call-out on Twitter. *shrug* We'll see when I get that far.

So there you go! Next week I'll talk about where you can find a fabulous alpha reader, critique partner, or a beta reader to help you with your manuscript. Look forward to it. *thumbs up*

But until then, what do you think about all of the different types of editing partners? Have you heard about all three of these roles before, or are any of them new to you? And do you have alpha readers, critique partners, and beta readers? Tell me in the comments!

Font formatting and YOU

Let's talk about italics and bolds and CAPITALS.

Now, I've seen many a writer try to create volume and emotion in argument-based scenes by using bolded and CAPITALIZED letters in their dialogue. I think the idea behind this is something along the lines of the bigger the letters, the bigger the feelings behind them. There's even a semi- hierarchy:

I hate you! (relatively normal level of hate)
I hate you! (angry, burning hate)
I HATE YOU! (angry, passionate explosion of hate)
I HATE YOU! (this is the hate of a million combusting suns)

Charming, yeah? Only not. Because depending on font formatting makes for lazy writing. Instead of showing how angry your character is, you're letting the ink do it for you, and that comes off as pretty weak. Especially when you start getting multiple characters flinging bolded and CAPITALIZED barbs back and forth.

You should never be using bolded or CAPITALIZED words in your writing. Words in themselves have power, and you shouldn't forsake that with silly font formatting. There is always a more effective alternative.

Now, you might argue, what about italics? You just italicized a word in the last sentence, Sarah, and italicized words are in books all the time! What makes italics so special?

Well, for one thing, italics do something different then bolds and CAPITALS. As discussed, people use bolds and CAPITALS to emphasize volume, which can be done in other ways. But italics emphasize, well, emphasis. Just look at the differences in meaning here:

I hate you. (as in me specifically, but maybe no one else hates you)
I hate you. (hate, as opposed to any other feeling)
I hate you. (as in you specifically; maybe I don't hate anyone else)

There's not many easy ways to evoke those same feelings without italics. However, you should always use them sparingly. In fact, you probably should be using italics the same way as I suggest you use adverbs: when it adds something the reader would miss otherwise.

So how do you guys feel about italics and bolds and CAPITALS? Have you ever used bolds and CAPITALS in your writing? If so, it's okay, because I totally have too, and I even threw in some underlining in for super dramatic effect. Even better, do you have a counter-argument for the bolds and the CAPITALS? Either way, tell me what you think in the comments!

On this blackest of Fridays

You know, I was going to write about Thanksgiving. Then I was going to write about Black Friday. Then I remembered how everyone always writes about holiday on their blogs, and after you've seen one post, you've pretty much seen them all. Besides, not all of you are American.

This is pretty much why I don't say anything about holidays on Squidink. It often gets to the point where the blog-o-sphere becomes saturated with a lot of the same sentiments, and I'd rather not bore you (and myself) with them.

There are a lot of other topics I like to avoid on this blog too. Politics. Religion. Complaining too much. Too many details on my personal life (not that they're super interesting anyway). I want to be positive here--not to look perfect or avoid debate or anything like that--but because I don't feel there's a point to lingering on the negative.

People like to cling to hatred too easily. We like to complain and gripe and get furious over the stupidest stuff. Just look at all of the people who hate Twilight. Why waste the effort to actively hate something when you can spend that time enjoying things you like? I don't know about you guys, but I prefer being happy instead of angry.

Especially on this blog, which is on the internet, which is gonna be around until time immemorial. *shrug*

So, speaking of blog topics to avoid, what kind of things don't you like to talk about on your blog? Is there anything you avoid like the plague? Or do you think I'm just being ridiculous . . . or even, dare I say, inappropriate? Tell me what you think in the comments.

Hanging out on Google+

Write-ins.

They are awesome. They are a combination of magic and sparkles and productivity. Or, well, maybe they're more like extreme ridiculousness combined with focused productivity. Either way, they rock because not only do you get to bond with other writers, but you also get some work done.

Unfortunately not all of us can host or attend a write-in. But that is what the internet is for!

Several months ago, Google+ entered the world and we all went crazy about it. Then everyone stopped caring because G+ is just another form of Facebook . . . and at this point it's just easier to hit up Facebook for those social networking needs. However, G+ has a feature that Facebook doesn't have: Hangouts.

What are Hangouts? Think video conferencing without having to actually pay for a program. *cough*Skype*cough* It's a little buggy right now, but it's a fantastic way to get a bunch of people together and write.

Maybe a video conference write-in sounds odd, but my local NaNoWriMo group has been doing this every night we don't have an officially scheduled write-in. Yes, we like each other's company far too much . . . but it has been pretty awesome. Trust me on this. And then think about hanging out with some people the next time you need a writing buddy.

So had any of you even heard of this Google+ feature before now? If so, have you had the pleasure of going to a hangout? What were you doing there? Just chatting, or something more productive? Tell me in the comments.

When should you give up on a story?

I started NaNoWriMo this year with a story about selkies. It was going to be a paranormal something or other with family drama and, of course, lots of the ocean. I had two pretty sweet opening lines . . . and then I didn't know what I wanted to do. I didn't have any passion for the idea as a whole. I wrote 428 words and decided that I hated my story.

So I decided to write something different.

A lot of people will tell you to push through those kinds of blocks. They'll tell you to ignore the shiny new idea, and 99% of the time, that is the advice you should follow. Today I'm going to tell you about that elusive 1%.

When you're writing, you should always be writing something you love. I'm not talking about the quality of the writing or turning off your inner editor, I'm talking about the idea itself. Because if you love your idea and the potential behind it, you can write some horrible stuff and still be happy. If not, well, you'll struggle for every word and you'll bleed for every new plot point.

If your writing is a nightmare, try evaluating your story. Is it the kind of story that you have passion for? If so, is it an idea that maybe needs to marinate for a while? And are you forcing yourself to write something that you don't love? These questions are important, especially when it comes to your writerly morale.

Have any of you ever dropped a novel idea that just wasn't working? I, uhh, kind of has a history of it. Anyway, if you're participating in NaNo, what are you writing and why do you love that idea? Tell me in the comments!

How to (not) kill babies

"Kill off your darlings."

Common piece of writing advice there. So what does it really mean?

Well, sometimes when we write, we craft beautiful sentences. And not just sentences either, but beautiful paragraphs or scenes or ideas when everything seems perfect. I spent my entire college education referring to them as "babies," but internet seems to like the term "darlings" better.

However, the idea is the same. There a sentence/paragraph/scene/etc that you love unconditionally. It's the kind of sentence that makes it impossible to imagine a world where it isn't in your novel.

I'm starting to sound a bit melodramatic, I know, but that's how writers feel about their babies. We don't want to part with them.

And you might be wondering, why would you want to do that anyway? If the sentence/paragraph/scene/etc is so wonderful, why in the world would you delete it?

For several reasons. Maybe you have to rewrite a scene, and suddenly that one sentence doesn't mesh with the mood or the plot. Maybe your dramatic paragraph is just a giant blob of purple prose and needs to be parsed down. Or maybe the entire scene is one giant darling, but your characters are out-of-character. Either way, sometimes it needs to happen, and it's an incredibly difficult edit to accept.

So let me share a secret that'll making killing all of your babies 100% sweeter:

Don't delete them.

That's right. Don't completely kill them. Instead, copy your untouched paragraph into a separate document. Then go ahead and chop up the original draft to your heart's content. That way, there will always be a preserved copy of your darling. Maybe you'll want to go back to your original scene, or maybe you'll be able to use it in a different scene.

Either way, the stress and heartache of deleting your baby, will go away. It'll make writing easier when you don't have to agonize about how much you don't want to give that sentence/paragraph/scene/etc up.

So how do you feel about killing your babies, or rather, your darlings? Do you reluctantly accept that it needs to be done, or do you fight tooth and nail against The Man? Also, regarding the whole darlings vs. babies thing . . . have you ever encountered this terminology discrepancy, or am I just crazy? Tell me what you think in the comments!

Bread pudding and your DREAMS

Last night I made bread pudding.

It was spontaneous. As in, I wanted to eat something sweet and decided to make bread pudding. Because I like to pretend I'm a magnificent cook.

This awesome plan might have gone better if I'd ever actually eaten bread pudding before. Or knew what bread pudding is supposed to look like. Or maybe if the recipe I went with actually had useful information in it (like, cook time or logical instructions).

Does this look like bread pudding? At all?

Mmm. Tasty. Ish.

The point is, sometimes it's better to consider what you're doing before you actually bother to do it, especially if it's something you've never done before. Otherwise you might end up stuck with a 9x9 pan full of lumpy mush.

If you're writing a YA book, you should probably read a few YA books and find out what hallmarks make the genre. If you're applying to a college or a job, it might be a good idea to research the place that you're applying to so you don't get surprised later on. Because you know what? You should never treat your dreams and ambitions as carelessly as my bread pudding.

So, have you made anything that didn't turn out as well as you hoped it would? What was it? A cooking experiment gone wrong, or something else? Tell me about it in the comments.

Major edits are scary!

It's difficult making big edits to a manuscript.

For one thing, we all like to think that our first draft might be perfect. It's that rush of adrenaline that sweeps through your bones right as you type the last sentence--that irrational feeling that THIS manuscript is the one. Sure, it's only a rough draft, but it's the best thing you've ever written, so it must be amazing.

This, of course, is a lie. Any trace of arrogance and narcissism vanishes in about the first 30 seconds after you share the manuscript with someone else. Not to mention when you actually read over it for the first time. Because then everything is HORRIBLE and NEEDS to be repaired.

It's just, what if those major edits make your manuscript worse? Why isn't your first draft good enough? It seems decent, even if you know down in your deepest of hearts that it's not. There's potential for this story--you can feel it--but what if your edits just screw everything up beyond repair?

Well, it's just not going to happen. You're not going to kill your manuscript. Trust me. And if you're still concerned, make backup copies of your different drafts. That way you travel back in time if you mess everything up.

However, even if you do tackle the major edits, I won't lie. You might end up writing four versions of one chapter and then realize that the original really was perfect. Or, you might end up with the sixteenth version, the one that you never would've written without forcing yourself to change things it again and again. It's definitely not easy.

Don't let that scare you though. Think about your changes and then enact them with full discretion. But never back down from a major edit, especially when you know that it needs to be down, because otherwise your writing will suffer.

So how do you guys feel about implementing big edits? Does it make you nervous to change something that's spread out through the entire story? Or do you like performing surgery on your manuscript? Tell me in the comments.

Finding my editing process

Unlike many writers, I've never been very good at thinking things out on paper. What that really means is I don't like writing longhand. That's right, I have no nostalgia for ink flowing across paper and special writing pens and all those things that so many writers are attached to. I like my cold, clinical word processor. *pets computer*

The thing is, I can type around 70 WPM, but I can't handwrite nearly that fast. There's something to be said about being able to record my thoughts as quick as they come. And the actual writing bit? I like being able to read what I've written and then change it without messy scribbles and wasted paper. Cleanliness is awesome.

Word processors are flexible and they help me focus on what I'm supposed to be doing, whether it's big or little or spread out between four different chapters.

Now why am I telling you this? Because my supposed "editing process"--the one I outlined a few months ago--is completely wrong. Well, not the procrastination bit. That's super accurate. And really, it's not so much that my process was wrong. It was just wrong for me.

How so? Well, I realized how so many writers like to work with paper, and I somehow I convinced myself that it'd would work for me too.

The problem is, when I start editing on paper, I don't think about the rest of the story, just the lines in front of my eyes. I don't even think about the rest of the chapter, just the lines. So my lines become beautiful, but I don't notice that the pacing is bad, or the dialogue is out-of-character, or any of the really important things. My "editing" falls flat because my story lives in my head and somewhere in my fingertips. Not on paper.

So I'm starting over. This time I'm sticking to my word processor. Because while it might be lifeless and dead to you, it's not for me. And maybe I'll get some actual work done this time around.

But before I go, I just wanted to you guys to know: Sometimes it's hard to tell what's working and what isn't. Sometimes you don't realize there's a legitimate reason behind your problems. But that's not a bad thing. In all honesty, you probably needed to do things wrong to understand how to make them right.

Just don't worry, because you're not alone and you will figure it out. <3

So how do you guys feel about the editing process? Have you ever tried to force one method of editing to work for you? Or has everything been hunky-dory from the start? Tell me in the comments.

The Editing Pyramid

As some of you may already know, I've been revising as of late. Editing and me? We're like this. *crosses fingers together* Yeah. So, in celebration, I thought I'd talk about the different types of editing and what I think of as the Editing Pyramid.

Harken, the mighty Pyramid of Editing

Yeah, I know. That's a rocking graphic there. Anyway, it reads like most pyramid-shaped diagrams, but let me get into the nitty-gritty of the different types of edits, so you can understand it even better.

Global Edits

• What are they?
  These are the major edits. I'm talking the kind of edits where you realize where you need to kill off a major character during the mid-story climax. Or re-write the entire story from a different character's POV. Global edits are exactly what they sound like: large edits that will affect your entire manuscript.
• How do I approach them?
  Critique partners are awesome for ideas when it comes to global edits, but you can always tackle them on your own. I like to re-read my entire manuscript and take notes on what plot points do and don't work. Then it's all about shifting through your work and applying those changes.

Line Edits

• What are they?
  Ever heard about the writer that stared a sentence for hours, trying to figure out whether to use one adjective or the other? Or the writer who re-wrote the same paragraph three different ways? Well that's what line edits are all about: making all the little parts of manuscript beautiful.
• How do I approach them?
  Line edits can be a bit time consuming, but that's not a bad thing. Read your writing, and then read it again. Read it out loud for flow. Question the voices of your characters and be picky about your verbs. Remove superfluous words like "that" and "just." Pretend you're weeding a garden and keep yanking until you can't find anything else to pull.

Copyedits

• What are they?
  This is where we focus our editing laser eye-beams and pick out the tiniest errors. You know how you've been misspelling "soldiers" as "soliders" for the entire manuscript? Not to mention the fact that every day of your book is Friday and your love interest's shirt keeps changing color. That's what copyedits do: catch all of the minor mistakes.
• How do I approach them?
  Read your manuscript and pick out as many typos and inconsistencies as you can. Then get someone else to read your manuscript and beg them to stare it down. Try reading aloud and see if you stumble over anything glaringly wrong. Copyedits are slippery beasts.

So there you go, the three basic types of editing: global, line, and copy. Does that pyramid make more sense now? It's all about scope. Global edits affect your entire manuscript, line edits focus on small chunks of it, and copyedits are super tiny changes.

Now, I'm partial to line editing (obsessive about verbs? not me . . .), but what about you guys? Have you gone through all three types of editing and do you have a favorite? Or is there a fourth branch of editing that I've completely spaced on? Tell me in the comments!

Sometimes I just slooow down

It feels like the writing community is always stressing on speed. Draft quickly, revise quickly, critique quickly. You need to go, go, go or you'll lose your chance. If you can't be speedy now, then how will you ever manage when you have a book deal and an agent and a deadline to finish by?

I think we all need to calm down.

Now I understand the need for speed. Really. I do. But there's no point in rushing so fast that your writing suffers because of it. And I certainly can't be the only person that's experienced this. Sometimes a manuscript needs to breathe, and we should always let it.

Take a break between drafting and editing. That way you'll be able to revise objectively. Don't deny it--objectivity is key when killing off those straggling adverbs and darling sentences. Likewise, if you're stuck on a plot point, brainstorm. Analyze every inch of the problem until you can make it work. Maybe it takes you a week, or even a month, but it's still better than forcing the problem into an ill-fitting mold.

So how do you guys feel about the constant pressure to produce? Have you ever rushed through your manuscript? Or do you take the occasional break to let things marinate? Tell me in the comments.

Are writing classes worth it? Part 2

Last Wednesday I talked about writing classes and whether I thought they were worth taking or not. Inadvertently, I caused some confusion because the post referred to workshop-style classes and I didn't bother explaining that. There are, in fact, two types of writing classes: writing workshops and how-to classes, and today I'm going to talk about both of them.

Writing workshops

• What are they?
  Workshops are like a giant critique group. They consist of somewhere between 10-20 people and like to focus on short stories of the literary fiction persuasion. Students read published short stories and deliberate over what does and does not work in them. Students also write their own short stories, share them with the class, and receive a group critique. These are the writing classes I was referring to in last week's post.
• Should I take one?
  Writing workshops are tricky because the quality of the workshop is based on the people in the class. I covered this in the last post, but for anyone who didn't read it, a quick summary: I think writing workshops are worth taking because you can learn a lot in a short period of time. Workshops force you to write and then teach why the elements in your story do or do not work.

How-to classes

• What are they?
  These classes are kinda synonymous with the how-to writing books that you can find in any bookstore. You may or may not read published stories or write you own, but the professor definitely lectures. In general, these classes will cover basic story elements and writing techniques, but they can also get super specific and focus on stuff like genre. These are not the writing classes I was referring to.
• Should I take one?
  I don't think so. Why? Because how-to classes set rules, and that boxes you in. Yes, I understand that taking a how-to class may be beneficial for a new writer. I get it. But you probably shouldn't be taking more than one how-to class. The best way to become an excellent writer isn't to listen to people telling you how to write. It's bucking up and writing. Maybe you don't know how dialogue works, but write some and then ask people what they think. Do it until you understand.

So there we go--my complete thoughts on writing classes. Now I know I already asked you guys about this, but do you have any new thoughts? What do you think about workshop classes and how-to classes? Is there an illustrious third class that I'm missing? Will I need to do another post on this subject? Tell me what you think in the comments.

Are writing classes worth it?

ETA (06/13/11): So I realized there is a fatal flaw to this post. Feel free to read on, but once you're done, check out the continuation in part two.

A couple weeks ago I promised I'd talk about creative writing classes, so here we go.

To start with, there are two camps when it comes to writing workshops: those who've taken them and those who think they're a waste of time. Sure, there's can be some overlap there, but that's the basic gist. Being that I took creative writing classes in college, we can obviously see where I fall.

However, I do think that creative writing classes can be waste of time. They're set up as workshop, so everyone has to participate and it's basically a giant critique group with some learning thrown in. What you need to understand though, is that workshops are only as good as the people that are in them.

The first writing workshop I ever took was a low-level class that many non-majors took to fill their writing requirement. This meant that I got to read a lot of terribly written short stories. They all involved murder, sex, or pot. No lie. Even though my professor was awesome, it wasn't a helpful class because my fellow students didn't offer the kind of writing or critique that I could learn from.

The next few workshops I took were much better because a selection process was involved. For higher level classes, the program I took required you to submit work and pray that you were accepted. The only problem with these classes was the people. I don't want to say that "they just didn't get my work," but I actually had an experience where that kinda happened. My professor actually told me to not listen to the critique that my fellow classmates had given because it would stifle my writing.

Now, the best writing workshop I took was also the last one I took. It was a limited opportunity because it was taught by a visting professor, so I felt pretty awesome when I got accepted. Then my professor was absolutely amazing. Better yet, my peers were amazing too. They offered critique and opinions that got me thinking about what I wrote and what it meant to be writing. Maybe I didn't agree with everyone all of the time, but I respected what they thought.

Like I said before, a writing workshop is like a giant critique group. And unfortunately, it's hard to find a perfect critique group. If you don't mesh with the people, then you won't get anything out the class, and the odds are against you finding the right group. The wrong professor, one jerk who talks louder than everyone else, people that can't or won't take you seriously--none of that is worth it.

Maybe people can teach themselves how to write without taking writing classes. Maybe they really are a waste of time and money. But I can't agree with that 100%. If you can find that one perfect workshop group, then you can learn so much more than you could by yourself. You'll be able to look at good writing in its early phases and discuss what makes published writing so great. Finding that opportunity is worth taking writing classes.

So what do you think? Agree or disagree? Have you ever taken a writing workshop? Was it part of a college course or maybe part of community education? Did you have a good time, or could you not wait until it was over? Tell me in the comments.

Reviving your writerly willpower

College students put off their short stories until the night before workshop. A lot of writers depend on their critique partners to push them to complete that next chapter. Even some published authors push the deadline when it comes to getting things done.

And, of course, there are the writing books, which urge you to finish things as quickly as possible. Your friends and relatives who want to know if you've edited your entire book in the last week because they want to read it. Even your blog readers can lay on the pressure if you set yourself a public deadline.

Seeing a pattern yet?

All of these are forms of external motivation, and writers are addicted to them like caffeine. While they're definitely effective, there is one fatal flaw: external pressure is always trumped by internal pressure. If you don't want to write, don't feel like writing, don't have the will to write, then nothing anyone says is going to change that.

And it's easy to lose the will to write. Maybe your story seems like such a mess that you don't know how to fix it. Maybe it's just impossible for you to write until you take the time to fit the puzzle pieces together. Maybe you just hate everything and it all seems like a waste of effort.

Not writing isn't a bad thing, but losing your willpower is.

It's obvious why. In order to write, to be successful at writing, you need to want to write. Sounds simple right? But you're always on your own with that. Those external sources might poke a finger or two in your direction, but none will break through unless you want them too.

My suggestion? Remind yourself why writing is wonderful. Read some books and focus on actually enjoying them. Write a short story or fiddle with a side project--don't go committing yourself to another book, but shape some sentences and play with some words. The idea is to get the juices flowing again so your current project will lose its nightmarish cast.

If that doesn't seem to help, go read Laini Taylor's delicious post on how to fall back in love with your story. The core of what she's saying is the same, but her method is a lot different. She'd rather you keep trekking with one story and hardcore brainstorm until things are brilliant again.

So what do you guys think? Supposedly everyone is either a drafting person or an editing person--are you partial to one step of the process and do the other steps eat your soul? Have you ever just lost the will to go on? If you did, how did you get it back? Tell me in the comments!

World building is all about questions

I've been thinking about world building a lot recently. My lone critique partner, Brenna, has been brainstorming with me about the world building in her WIP and then followed that up with a series of posts on her blog. Then I was asked how I world build, which got me thinking, and I figured it was time to bring that up here because world building is one of my favorite things about writing.

For anyone who doesn't know, world building is the environment in your story and how your characters relate to it. It's super important for genres like fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction because they all focus on different times/places than now. If you're in on the YA book trends, you probably have noticed that the quality of a dystopian is dependent on the world building.

Now, my current WIP is a YA fantasy that takes place in a desert, so I devote a lot of time to fleshing that world out. Which is good, because I love world building. As such, I've spent many hours deciding how weather patterns work and how people would build cities based on their surrounding environment. I also dabble with flower symbolism, city-state politics, and how my characters relate to death based on their culture. It's all sorts of crazy.

Why do I spend so much time of world building? Well, I'm a stickler for detail. In particular, detail that makes sense. If there's an issue of logic, I kinda shut down until I can figure out how to fix things. This is both a good and a bad thing because my world building gets pretty solid, but I can stagnate on one scene for days.

But this post is supposed to be about how to world build, not my issues. So if you have problems focusing on world building, then I have one piece of advice: ask questions.

Yeah, that's right. But not just a couple questions, as many questions as you can think of, from as many POVs as you can come up with. Why are your characters doing certain things? Why are they doing these things NOW instead of years ago? How did these events come to pass and why did certain people let them happen that way?

If you have problems asking yourself these kinds of questions, get someone else. Tell them to be super critical and super curious. You should be able to answer any kind of question they ask. Even the ones that seems stupid of irrelevant.

The result is that you'll end up knowing more about your world than will show up in your book. It kinda sucks that you can't share anything, and you might be wondering why bother knowing so much then? Because the knowledge shows in your writing. Hints of depth go a long way in world building.

So what do you think about world building? Do you enjoy it? Are you like me and think of it as your One True Love of writing? Or is world building like pulling teeth--the kind of thing that you avoid as much as possible? Tell me your thoughts in the comments!

To adverb, or not to adverb

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We all know about the evil adverb. It's a horrible part of speech and you should purge it from your writing as often as possible. In fact, Jessie over at Little Bonobo's Book Cafe has a fantastic post on the dos and don'ts of adverbs. It is far more intensive than I ever plan to be on the subject, so you should definitely go check it out.

Anyway, let's paint a special, adverbial scenario: Your sentence is sexy. Your verb is particularly sexy. You know what you're doing and the wording is strong. But there's still that pesky adverb and you're not sure whether it's good or not.

Well, 99% of the time, your adverb needs to go. There's a better way to phrase your sentence. Trust me. However, there's that pesky 1% left over and the only way to tell if your adverb is a lucky winner, is to start asking yourself some questions.

Is the adverb superfluous? Does it tell the reader anything new and fresh? Does it throw contrast onto the verb, or does it make everything super repetitive? Is there a reason that your adverb needs to be there?

Let's look at some examples and I'll show you what I mean:

Bad Adverb: She hissed angrily.
Why is "angrily" a bad adverb in this instance? Because the verb "hissed" already has the connotation of anger or displeasure. When you're saying that someone "hissed angrily," you're being redundant. Which is lame.

Good Adverb: She hissed lovingly.
Why is "lovingly" so much better than "angrily"? Because it makes no sense! While many readers can innately determine that a hiss is angry, that's not that case when your hiss is loving. A loving hiss is unique.

Hopefully I'm not talking gibberish here--I kind of feel like I am whenever I start babbling on grammar. What I'm trying to say is that the best thing an adverb can do is throw new meaning onto a verb. Make your adverbs work and put new meaning into your sentences. If your adverb is a contradiction, you have a good case for keeping it around.

So how do you feel about adverbs? Do you cut and slice them away at every possible moment, or do you lavish them on with loving care? Do you agree or disagree with what I'm saying? Tell me in the comments!

Writing breaks and guilty pleasures

I'm probably not the first to tell you guys that writing isn't all sunshine and daisies. Sometimes it sucks. Luckily most of us love writing enough to push past the barriers of doubt and confusion. We can suck it up.

However, I'm not sure that sucking it up is always the best option. Sometimes it's just difficult to summon the will to continue. Sometimes you're making your story worse by puttering with it. Sometimes it would do you better to think on a scene instead of work on it. Sometimes your brain needs to relax.

But that's not a bad thing! So many writers will tell you that it's important to write every day, but I think it's more important to be in tune with yourself. If you can crank out quality work every day, awesome. Go do that. But if you need a break, then take a break and don't feel guilty about it.

Actually no. You should embrace guilt. Not the guilt that comes from avoiding your writing, but a better type of guilt. The guilt of guilty pleasures. Why? Because guilty pleasures are the best way to relax.

Really. It's true. Guilty pleasures are powerful because they're things we often relish the most. Maybe it's because most guilty pleasures are kind of ridiculous. For example, a lot of people secretly like reality shows just because they're so over-the-top. Others have a secret stash of tasty food that can hit the spot when they're down. Some people listen to cheesy pop music because the beats are bubbly and exciting. The examples are endless, and all of them bring joy.

Now, I'm speaking from experience here. For the last two weeks I've been indulging in guilty pleasures instead of editing my WIP. Maybe I haven't gotten much done, but I've cleared my mind. And now, in the last few days, I've gotten more work done than I would have if I had forced myself to not take a break.

How do you guys feel about breaks? Necessary or waste of time? Most of my guilty pleasures go back to things I did in my childhood (ie: pokémon), but what about you? Anything good? Tell me your thoughts in the comments.

Lessons from my drafting process

So a while ago I finished the rough draft of my manuscript. It was pretty sweet. Then someone asked me about my drafting process. This was both awesome and horrifying because suddenly it seemed like the world had deemed me qualified to answer such a question. I definitely don't feel qualified!

And when I considered the answer, I realized that my drafting process is kind of a mess.

I munch on junk food of all sorts. I waste time researching random crap on the internet (ie: flowers) when I should be focusing on my work. I spend an embarrassing amount of time staring at my Twitter feed and urging it to update. I'm a lazy plotter, so when my outline is sparse I bemoan my woes and whine at Boyfriend until he tells me to stop being a drama queen. I avoid reading blog posts because I'm supposed to be writing, but then I don't write, and then I don't get anything productive done.

Unfortunately, most of these things aren't very helpful. Not to you, not to me, not to anyone. However, after some immense consideration, I managed to weed out what I think are the most important bits of my drafting process.

1. I wrote (almost) everyday
   This is helpful in two ways. The obvious is the fact that you're always getting something done on your WIP be it 10 words or 10,000 words. The not-so-obvious is that writing everyday makes it so you're thinking about your story all the time. Not only does this make it easier and faster to get in the zone, but your writing sessions become more productive. Also, for my first several months of drafting I wrote at the same time everyday, which helps cement the routine.


2. I sucked it up
   It's very easy to whine about writing. I am particularly whiny about writing. Those of you who follow me on Twitter understand this firsthand, considering that I make exasperated comments with each chapter I write. Writing breaks are important sometimes, but the other 90% of your time should be spent writing. You don't want to? You'd rather work on something else? Suck it up.


3. I set myself a scary goal
   I also told you guys about it to round myself up a nice big dose of accountability. If you have a goal--a realistic one--you start producing more and quicker. Especially if there are prizes at the end. Because prizes rock. Just look at NaNoWriMo, it's the ultimate goal-setting challenge for writers and thousands of people finish every year. 

There are my three tips. They're pretty basic, but I think they're pretty important. What do you guys think? What's your drafting process like? Do you have any other important tips? Or are you a big fan of the crappy process parts too? Tell me in the comments.