The Writing Process

...for me.

So a couple weeks ago I mentioned off hand that I initially wrote Farro in three weeks. This is true, the first draft went from nonexistent to "the end" in under a month, but I've spend many months more rewriting and editing. I go through stages and writing is (unfortunately) only a single step towards completion.

I thought I would share these steps with you. So prepare yourself for a rather lengthy post!

Step One: Write your book.

The biggest mistake I see aspiring authors making is writing a couple pages, maybe even a couple chapters and then reading over what they wrote. Why a mistake? Because these authors will inevitably see the flaws in their writing and come to resent the whole project. They're likely to even scrap it. This isn't where I'm going to tell you how to write a good book -- I'm not sure anyone can tell you that -- but I will impart to you this one gem of knowledge: Write. Don't make calendars and deadlines and goals, just write because you like to write. Don't look over what you're working on, and don't -- for heaven's sake! -- start a new project right in the middle of the first. You're supposed to be writing for fun, and if all the sudden you find yourself growing bored, introduce a dramatic setting, a thrilling climax, a new character. It'll spice up your story and keep your words coming. That is, after all, what's most important. Just write, we forgive you for the typos!

[Time: 3 weeks]

Intermission: Let it sit.

If you're like me and you wrote your book in a few, sleep-deprived weeks, then this is especially important. You've finished, so give yourself a break for a couple weeks, maybe even a month. Read some books you've been meaning to get to, reconnect with friends, rent those movies you've been meaning to watch. Give the writing side of you a break.

[Time: 5 months. Why so long? Because I needed it. I was tired, and unemployed and I needed time!]

Step Two: The Rewrite

This is where I sat down and focused on character/plot fixes. This is where I went through and extended scenes, cut scenes, tightened scenes, etc.. I took it chapter by chapter, the original document open to one side of my screen, the new document on the other. I reworked those sentences that weren't inline with the narration style, I altered the style completely in tense/action scenes. I did about a chapter every other day, brushing the grit from the surface of the story, bringing forth it's deeper themes and potential.

[Time: 2 months]

Step Three: The Edit

Ugh. Of all the steps this is my least favorite, for obvious reasons. I'm not great at spotting my own typos (see earlier posts for details), so I usually strong arm my husband into helping. First I take a chapter and I read it ALOUD. Why aloud? Because it's the single best way to edit for voice, style, dialogue, word choice, etc. If you do nothing else, proofreading, revisions, etc., then please -- for the love of all that is holy -- read your book aloud. Second, I send said chapter to husband, who does a pass for grammatical mistakes, further word choice advise, and style corrections. Third, check over husband's changes, make sure I agree with all of them, see where maybe I need to rework a whole paragraph in light of his changes, etc. Then it's done. I check that chapter off my list. Hooray Arreana!

[Time: 2 months]

Step Four: The Polish

So all throughout step three I was finding problems, right? Well, the ones I encountered frequently I added to the "Farro Checklist," a now-7-page bulleted list of all the problems that I will ctrl+F and double check in the final stage. I'll format my book here to make sure everything is consistent (i.e. when I say "Kah" it doesn't appear "kah"), I'll check to make sure anything I was unsure about in the editing process gets changed and inputed here. It moves fast, it's satisfying -- who doesn't like checking things off a list? -- and, after writing the novel, it's probably about the most fun you'll have with it. I get to see the final product, to see it come together at last.

[Time: 3-5 days]

So, as you can see, Farro took me a considerable amount of time. Usually books don't take me that long to complete, but life threw me a couple doozies, and I'm afraid the whole project was put on the back burner for a while. Hopefully Sulfur will go considerably faster!

Ninja Typos (a.k.a. Stealthy Typos)

What does this post serve? Not much. Consider this a public service announcement:

"Warning! Beware ninja typos!"

"Well," you ask, "what is a ninja typo?"

Let me demonstration. Say while writing you miss a letter or two, and Word autocorrects it to the nearest approximate word, and sometimes you just honestly type the wrong word (while thinking the correct one). Whatever their origination these sorts of typos are hardest for me to catch. Why? Because my brain sees "demonstra...", registers the meaning, and moves on to the next word before I've even had a chance to see that it's spelled "demonstration" instead of "demonstrate". There are smaller, sneakier words that also frequently bother me: me/my, express/expression (auto-correct loves this one), scrapping/scraping, dare/date (hilarious!).

The best/worst part? Most adults are bad at catching them. Most of these words are "sight words" for us now. Compare these words to less commonly used words like "inchoate, ethereal, ornaments." Our minds glaze over the sight-words, but they're no less susceptible to typos!

Never fear, I've thought up a solution: give your manuscript/essay/research paper to a elementary school student. Sounds wacky, right? But then these small "sneaker" typos are glaringly obvious to a child who isn't used to seeing sight words like "demonstration" and "demonstrate". Can't find a kid willing to read your novel? Then make a list of all these words, a check list of sorts, and ctrl+F all of them. Are you using them correctly in every instance. Unlikely! At least... unlikely for me!

Remember! Editing can be fun if you approach it with good humor. If you're willing to change the most disastrously bad/embarrassing typos and laugh at yourself. "Oh, Arreana!"

Oh, Arreana indeed!

"I date you!" -> "I dare you!"

Hilarious, no?

(Current length of Farro's Checklist [in typed pages]: 7)

The State of Farro

Editing sucks.

So instead of supplying you, my readers, with some steady stream of witticism, I going to vent about editing Farro instead. Poor you, lucky me.

This wouldn't be nearly so bad if it was more than just me and my husband working on it. It wouldn't be half so hard, or boring, or daunting a task. I have written the story, edited it once, rewritten once, and now find myself editing it again. How I would have loved to have had another person take some of the work load. Say, an editor? I have read every chapter nearly half a dozen times, if not more. (I think I've editing the first chapter over a dozen times by now). This final read through is the worst though. I'm not catching errors as well as I would be if I were looking at it fresh. Worst of all, my husband, who has read it nearly as many times as I, is starting to miss them too. Case-and-point, a conversation between us yesterday concerning a chapter he'd just edited and I was now looking over:

"Kyle! There was tense confusion here!"

"What where?"

"Here, between typo A and typo B!"

"What? How could I have missed that?"

[frowns all around]

I love my husband acutely, he's a wonder with words. He's an unrivaled speller, a walking thesuarus, an opinionated sytlist, but he's not particularly good with punctuation. He's, frankly, rubbish. And his commas? Oh, his commas.

"Kyle! I found a comma splice in [chapter he had just edited], be careful about those!"

"What's a comma splice?"

"..." Awkward silence. "That's okay, I'll handle the commas."

[Ten minutes later]

"Kyle? Why are there a whole bunch of added commas in this bit?"

"Because I felt there needed to be commas."

"Too many commas!" [undo, undo, undo]

He errs on the side of more commas, and when I discovered that, about four chapters in, I told him to leave the punctuation to me. I may be only okay with it, but that's better than extra commas. I hate extra commas. I suffer from over-commating things. Must. Break. Habit.

Damn punctuation.

So I finished Farro's rewrite two weeks ago and how many chapters have I finished in that time? Five. Just five. I'm settling into panic mode just about now. I need to pick up the pace if I'm going to make my deadline, and I have to make my deadline.

To myself I say: "Pick up the pace, Arreana. Finish Farro, publish Farro, beginning writing Sulfur, move on to something new!"

To any readers out there I say: "Thanks for letting me whine! I feel 80% better!"

Long Time, No Life

Hi there,

It's been a long time since I've posted anything, and to anyone reading this, I apologize. I've been very caught up in the rewriting of Farro's last couple chapters. Additionally, I've begun studying for a test I have to take for my grad school applications. Additionally, additionally, I've been working extra hours at work while a new server is being installed. My anniversary is this month, both my little siblings' birthdays, and well, Farro is alway a pressing chore. It weighs down on me day in and day out, reminding me, "Arreana, look at me. Arreana, work on me."

And Thursday I worked on it all day, and I finished two chapters (approx. 10,000 words). Friday I took the day off thinking, "I did twice as much yesterday, so I deserve it." Today, Saturday, I'm frantically working to extinguish the guilt my day off has occasioned me. I'm plotting the last two chapters (Yes, I'm down to only the two), because so much has changed in the rewriting to render the original ending completely obsolete.

I've changed so much these last couple months; I've added scenes, extended scenes, cut scenes, softened characters, hardened characters, etc. I've even added a character. I'm gone through and refined my underlying themes and my characters' underlying phobias and traumas. I've coaxed from my main character, Khensa, affection and sorrow, and I've fought tooth and nail to bring out Bomani's anti-social awkwardness. It's been an adventure, but even after the rewrite my to-do list is three typed pages long. Most of my problems are formating issues -- things I need to correct so they're uniform throughout the entire novel -- others are more tedious: plot tweaks, repetitious word removal (ugh, my least favorite), fact checks, etc.

Now I'm just further stressing myself.

I'm going to try to end this post on a positive note. I'm going to address those things I feel confident about; the common problems authors face that I feel I can currently mark as 'done':

1. Pacing - my scene extensions have added depth where it was needed, my careful cuts have removed the fatty lag.
2. Dialogue - I've removed redundancies and shortened the length of most conversations. They flow well and connect better with the story.
3. Overarching plot - when I approached this rewrite I knew I had some huge plot-related issues to fix, those have been dealt with. I now feel that from beginning to end Farro adheres nicely to its story.
4. Characters - if there is one thing to take away from my readers' responses and my own personal feelings, it's my characters are exactly where I want them. They are likable and flawed and have overhanging histories and quirks that propel the plot. They ARE the plot. If I'm proud of anything, its my characters.

But enough horn-tooting. I have work to do!

Love,

Arreana

Limbs vs. Limps

I know the difference. I swear. I swear on the life of my mother, my father, even on the lives of my two precious, adorable, frickin' awesome guinea pigs.

Well then, Arreana, why is it that whenever someone's limbs go limp, you write 'limps go limb'?

I don't know.

If someone is 'limping' I'll invariably type 'limbing'

If someone has 'limbs' I'll say that they have 'limps'

I've convinced myself, in a fit of self-loathing over the limp-limb phenomenon, that everyone has at least one chronic typo they can't overcome. Right? I mean, surely I can't be the only one with a problem.

Also... 'withouth'. Why the 'h'? Why, fingers, do you feel the compulsive need to press that button? Let's see if I can type this sentence withouth -- BAH!

Dear readers, don't obsesses over these things or you'll end up as neurotic and as me.

Dear Arreana, never publish a novel withouth first making sure that limps aren't limbs and limping is limbing - no! Limping not limbing.

...And I just saw that second 'withouth' typo. You know what? I'm going to leave it there as a testament to my ongoing struggle.