time for writing

The craft of writing – Always a learning process

/ AuthorMeganCox / Leave a comment

I love to write. I always have. In the first grade, I wrote a story about a princess tiger who takes a cloud train back to the zoo. The concept was a little strange, to say the least, and the illustration, was, uh, imaginative. But if nothing else, I like to look at the homemade book to remind myself of one thing:

I have always wanted to be a writer.

And I became one. From a news journalist to fiction author, the range of my writing runs the gamut. But like any human, I am always growing, learning  and changing as a writer, striving to get better at what I do. I will never be perfect, but I can always improve.

My early stuff is really fun, but my newer stuff is better, and in a few years, I hope to be able to continue to say that. I think of it like my ice skating performances from long ago. One of the first programs I ever competed with was an up-tempo classical number from The Marriage of Figaro, in which I wore an ivory dress with gold and green sequence. Yikes, I know, but it was the nineties. The program was simple, but I performed it with much gusto. My most difficult jump at the time was a single Axel, nothing Olympic-level, but the routine is still so much fun to watch on video.

Years later, I skated at the junior level at the National Collegiate Figure Skating Championships. In this program I landed a double Axel as well as several difficult jump combinations. My spins were centered, fast, and complicated. I skated to the haunting waltz from Khachaturian’s Masquerade, outfitted  in a beautiful periwinkle dress with small crystals inlaid in the sleeves and bodice.

These were very different points in my skating career, and obviously, my skating (and fashion sense) had matured and improved by the time I reached the collegiate Nationals. But both performances have merit, both won me a gold medal, and both were enjoyed by the audience.

All that to say this: writing is the same. Our early stuff, whatever level we start at, will always be new and exciting. Sometimes it will need a great deal of work to get published, sometimes not, but even if it could be improved, it doesn’t lessen the value of it. Any writer–all writers–should realize they have room to grow. No one is an expert in this business, and while some may have extensive knowledge to share, approaching the table with humility and an open mind, no matter the level of expertise or success, is a must in my book.

So, until next time, write on.

Ready, set, write – A few short steps to start a novel

/ AuthorMeganCox / Leave a comment

You have it! That killer, awesome, super cool, totally-going-to-get-you-a-literary-award-and-movie-deal idea for a novel. So what are you waiting for? Get those little fingers moving.

Okay, so maybe it’s not that easy. We all have some pretty good story ideas. But how do you take a big, fat, fabulous idea and streamline that baby into a can’t-put-it-down-or-I’ll-die kind of book. Well, I’ve got three solutions to help you get started. Of course, once you get rolling, the real work is ahead. Finishing a book and then taking the time to really rip it apart and put it back together (otherwise known as the revision process) is the super hard part of this. Then again, maybe getting started really is the biggest challenge. Because often, when you get something moving, it’s just a matter of keeping it going, am I right?

Step one: Figure out who your story is about. People don’t care about what is happening unless they care about the people it’s happening to. Who is your protagonist? Your antagonist? Who are the supporting characters–love interest (I’m sorry, but you’ve got to have one), friends, marginal enemies, etc.? Make up a cast list as though you’re casting a movie. Who would play your characters and why? What are their strengths and weaknesses (a hint here–usually what makes a character strong can also make him or her weak).

Step two: Know where you’re going. You wouldn’t take off on a road trip without an intended destination, right (unless you have tons of money and no one who depends on you, in which case, I really don’t know what to say to you)? Well, writing is the same way. You don’t need to know the tiny weeny details (such as, where are we stopping to stay/eat/gas up/etc.), but you do need to know where you want to end up and maybe have a rough map of how to get there. I’m not a big outliner myself, but I do plan out my book when I start and as I go along. Otherwise you may find yourself running in mental circles.

Step three: Word count. Oh yeah, this is important. You must set a weekly goal of how many words you want to write and have an idea of how many words the book will be. Note to prospective authors–writing novels over 100,000 words may give you some heartache when it comes to selling the thing. Also, many book genres have more specific word counts, so pay attention to those. When you become a super-duper big time writer, you can write how many ever words you want, but for the time being, get an idea of what is publishable. Next, decide how many weeks you want to take to write a first draft and what’s feasible for you to write on a weekly basis and set a word count goal. Then stick to it and reward yourself when you hit certain milestones.

And that, my friends, is a quickstart plan for you and that awesome book sitting in your head. Just remember, writing a novel is easier said than done. And read, read, read in the genre you want to write. There’s nothing wrong with studying success:)

Finding the Write Time

/ AuthorMeganCox / Leave a comment

Hey! Just let it go, alright? I can hear you groaning over my poor pun of a title. Whatever.

The thing is, you know exactly what I’m talking about here, right? How can the not-quite-full-time novelist make more time for writing?

The answer is she (or he) digs around in her day and finds a few spare moments. I’m telling you, it’s no easier for me than it is for you. In fact, it’s really, really hard.

Here are the facts. I have kids. Little kids. As in, a baby and a toddler. Moments of silence are as rare as a clean diaper around here. Also, I train for half-marathons and blog about it here. Finally, I just released the first book in a new series, and promoting it takes some serious time. I’m talking serious look-at-me, look-at-me social media time.

But I still get the job done. I’ve completed two new manuscripts this year, as well as a full edit of some past work. It works like this: my husband’s alarm goes off, and I roll out of the bed. Before I even have my legs firmly beneath me, I head to the kitchen, rev the laptop, and get the fingers moving. That’s discipline, baby, and nothing else.

A question I often get at my writing workshops is as follows: “What inspires you to write?” The answers to that question are endless–people, music, news stories, my own crazy past–they all inspire stories. But here’s the answer to the question they don’t ask–the question about whether I’m always inspired when I write.

The answer is no. Sometimes it takes three cups of coffee to write a paragraph. Sometimes I stare at the screen and wave my arms, waiting for magic to happen. Sometimes I stare at the baby monitor and pray for a baby intervention.

Because writing is hard, hard work. It’s awesome I-can’t-believe-I-get-to-do-it work too. But if you think writing comes naturally, think again. Sometimes you push your story out, sometimes you pull it. And even though it’s the coolest job in the world to write books, the job always takes some effort.

And coffee. Lots of it:) I should seriously invest in Foldgers.