Put It Away - Not Yet!

I thought this topic may be appropriate for those participating in Nano as well. I've been talking about breaking rules of writing and I plan on tackling one of the biggest right now - putting it away after the rough draft before you work on it.

I've mentioned before how important it is to set your manuscript aside to see it with fresh eyes. Are you ready for this?

You just wrote (are writing) a rough draft. You've vomited out fifty thousand words in one month. The characters and plot are an excited jumble in your mind that won't let you sleep. 

GO AHEAD AND WORK ON IT.

Yup. That's right. If it's what's on your mind and you're itching to tackle a revision, go ahead.

Shouldn't you put it away?? *bites nails* YES. You should. Just... not yet. Don't you dare go querying it or anything. But are you going to have to revise? No question. So if you want to work on it until you can't see straight go ahead, and THEN when you've had it, when you can't tell one sentence from another, THEN you put it away in the proverbial drawer. 

AND, BUT, BUTT, and a CONTEST!

He he. Like my title? Lee McKenzie pointed out a rule the other week that I just LOVE to break as well and that is starting a sentence with "and" or "but". Also, writing in fragments. See what I did there? LOL

If you do it too much, it's distracting. I usually end up fixing quite a few in edits, but it's part of my style as an author. I don't do it because I have a reckless disregard for grammar (though I admit I'm not the best at that). I do it because it lends power to my words, my flow, and my voice. If it doesn't? Then I get rid of it. 

OH. You noticed the contest part, did you? *rubs hands together* I've decided to give you all some incentive to participate. All you have to do is suggest a writing rule you want me to talk about in this blog series and I will use randomizer.org to pick a winner. Sound good? Easy peasy, just the way I like it! 

What do you win? How about a Kindle version of THE BINDING STONE? Already read it? I'll give you your choice of that or a five page critique. Oh and of course a shout out if and when I pick your suggestion. Contest is open now through Friday at midnight EST. No extra points, but my everlasting gratitude if you help publicize it. ;D

Back to my rule of the day. And you've also been waiting for the "butt" part, haven't you? Here's an excerpt (possible slight spoilers) from THE BINDING STONE just for you. Thought you might like to see Taj in action since the next book features him quite prominently. ;D


My hands tremble. Mira has grown silent and remains pressed against the ceiling staring at me. What does she see? Does she see a monster? A murderer? A traitor? 

“I will hold her here.” Taj’s voice in my ear startles me. 

“But–” 

“Yes, I have a lovely butt,” says Taj. “No need to thank me, it looks ever so much fun. Now, go save that handsome master of yours.” 

“But–” 

“Yes, he also has a nice ass. Too nice to get beat to a pulp. Now go.”   Taj’s hands rise toward the ceiling, and I feel the burden lifted from my own. He refuses to make eye contact with me. 

I lean in and kiss him on the cheek.

Exceptions To The Rules

First - it's April Fools! Check out the fun post on Enchanted Inkpot this morning. 

Now - Last week I spoke about the cliche things I see in a lot of opening pages and while most people agreed, there was also a consensus that these things don't have to be avoided. I agree! So today I want to talk about taking these cliches and turning them on their heads - or sometimes just making them so darn good that it doesn't matter.

• Starting with waking up with or without a dream. 

• Some great books start with this! As someone pointed out the Hunger Games is one of them. And that's one of my favorite books. But I can't tell you how many I've seen and I'm not even an agent or editor. So what can you do if you are sure this is the right place to begin?

• Make sure it's the right place by asking what the inciting incident is and WHY you feel this is the right place. If you can find anywhere else do so!
• Tell us something new. Katniss woke up feeling for someone next to her that was missing. Someone that shared a room with her entire family and that's different. We also heard about the "reaping" right away and were drawn in by wanting to know more. 

• Parent has died and child is in new living situation.
• Sometimes we need to get those parents out of the way so they won't interfere. Or we know they've died because it's important to our story. Unfortunately it's important in a LOT of stories. Some of my own manuscripts are no exception. So what's different?
• Perhaps we can focus on the relationship with the remaining parent instead of the death. Think Beautiful Creatures which both starts with a dream AND has a dead parent. I still love that book!
• Maybe the parent's death was just that. A death. And there's nothing mysterious about it. And if they don't have to be dead, why not give them something else to do? Preoccupy them with another sibling, a job, or *gasp* have them be involved in the characters life, just not the one running the show. 
• Teen discovers powers she never knew she had.
• I know, I caught a lot of flack for this one. That's the whole point of the story very often! But I challenge you to ask yourself if it HAS to be that way. And if so, what's so special about your book? I'm not saying that to be mean, just to challenge you before you get out there and start getting rejected over it. I too am working on one of these believe it or not. I try not to usually though. I use someone who knows they have magic/powers. OR the MC doesn't (and neither does the boyfriend LOL). But if we must then...
• Don't make the MC a pathetic loser to begin with. Most of the time we see a meek girl who finds out there's more to her. Make her interesting before she finds her power.
• Don't give us the info right off the bat. You can hint subtly, but draw us in and connect us first. 
• Mysterious or drop dead gorgeous guy appears conveniently poised to become the love interest. 

• Yeah we all love a hot guy. You all know I have a soft spot for bad boys. But look at Hush Hush (another one I love). We really don't know whether the hot guy is good or bad. In fact (spoiler alert to turn away if you haven't read) he was bad at first and did want to kill her
• So give him a fault. Anything really, small or big. Don't make him perfect! Or better yet let her fall for the non-obvious one.  
• "Best friend" boy likes MC but she doesn't realize it.
• I've seen this a lot lately - I suspect trying to make up for the one above. It's true if they've known each other for a while a love relationship is more believable. But maybe he doesn't notice her and it's the other way around? If not:
• Find her another guy to go for and let the poor kid's love go unrequited. 
• Don't make it obvious! Make him mean or something to hide his feelings so we can forgive her for not noticing this. 
• Perky best friend has it all and MC is shy and awkward.
• Why do our heroic MCs always have a perfect, bubbly friend that you want to smack? 
• Give the friend some faults and make your MC just as great. Where is it written that the MC has to be shy?
• At least give that friend a true purpose other than the "sidekick" role. Let her have some fun too and give her a personality other than simply "perfect",
• MC finds it necessary to describe herself by looking in the mirror or thinking about her blonde hair and blue eyes 
• Most of you admitted this bugged you. But guess what? I bet we all did it initially and thought we were oh so clever! I know I did! I even use the mirror myself still, but I try to change it up a bit.
• If you feel it absolutely necessary to physically describe your MC, work it in other ways. For example: If your MC is super tall, don't have her say, "I'm six feet and awkward." Show it by having her have to duck to fit somewhere, or slump so she isn't taller than her boyfriend. We'll get the idea. 

What do you think? Does this clear it up? Or did I make it all more confusing? Mwahahaha! The point is, rules are there to teach us not to take the easy way out, but to challenge ourselves to make it more unique and interesting. Can they be broken? Yes! But only when it's REALLY necessary and you better do it well. 

What's Your Path?

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Yes, there are certain rules and widely held beliefs that we try to use as a guide. But each person - each manuscript is different. We already know that both plotters and pantsers are equally successful. We know that the parts that come easy for one are difficult for another and vice versa. I thought about this as I completed Nano, with the messiest rough draft EVER. So I decided to take a look at what are some pretty solid truths (although I bet you anything you all can, will, and should argue this in the comments) and things that vary. 


Things we find on all paths to publication:

• The one thing I will never waiver on is behavior on the internet. If you want to succeed, you conduct yourself with manners and you don't lose your cool.
• You have to keep up on craft. No one knows everything. Everyone can improve. Keep reading posts, books, articles, and attending classes, workshops, and conferences. Whatever works for you. 
• WRITE. You can't be a writer if you never get around to actually writing.
• READ. You can't really write in the genre you choose if you haven't read widely. Writers are readers. 
• Time. Each road is different, it's true. Some have to work at it for a decade and beyond before something happens, some are fortunate to have the right timing and all the stars align. Either way, the thing successful writers have in common is perseverance. If you don't keep trying, you can't succeed.

Things that vary on our own paths:

• Environment. Do you write in the morning? At night?  Do you work full time? Do you have twelve kids running around? Do you need music? Absolute quiet? A change in scenery? The same spot every time? You get my point. 
• POV and tense. Some people swear by first person. Some people can only write past tense. Some people can't stand alternating points of view. What do I think? I think it depends on the manuscript and what's important for that one. Also, what your strengths are as a writer. 
• Background. Our own stories are as varied as the ones we put to paper. And that's something to celebrate because there are so many different readers out there waiting for great books. 
• Social Media. *gasp* it isn't for everyone. Not everyone enjoys it or feels comfortable with it. And which format you use varies also. I have a fondness for blogging and Twitter for example. 
• Process. I already mentioned plotters and pantsers. But there are also those whose first drafts are more of a skeleton that needs to be filled in, and those that have to cut down their 140,000 word masterpieces. There are those of us that are great with character, but have to work on world, or the other way around. Each person is different and so is each book.

What are some other variables that change depending on the writer or the book?

Anarchy

Today I want to talk about rules. Writing rules of course. There are so many, and they can be a bit overwhelming when you're learning the ropes. But without rules there is chaos and anarchy. Okay maybe it's not that bad, but your manuscript COULD end up riddled with adverbial dialogue tags.

There are reasons behind the rules. And yet many say you can ignore the rules, it's okay. Myself included!! Confused yet? Let me try to clarify.

WE NEED TO LEARN AND UNDERSTAND THE RULES BEFORE WE CAN SUCCESSFULLY BREAK THEM.

If you don't understand that you're breaking accepted norms you run the risk of:

• Putting off agents and editors who may take it as a sign that you haven't bothered to do your homework and really learn about this business. They will then pass on your book in favor of one of the many from authors that do follow the rules.
• Never growing at your craft! If you don't bother to understand WHY we don't use so many adverbs (it's the lazy man's way of telling not showing and doesn't typically - see I break rules too - add to the book), you won't get that extra oomph of using them at the RIGHT times. And you'll have a weaker manuscript.
• Missing out. You MIGHT actually learn something useful if you try things a new way. A light bulb may just go on and a new idea or approach may surprise you.
• Not being a whole writer. What does that mean? Well, writing is an art, but it's also a business. If you don't acknowledge that there are rules, then you are not acknowledging that you are taking this endeavor seriously, and that you are willing to put in the extreme effort it takes to succeed.

So learn all the rules. Then as long as you have a darn good reason, you have my blessing to break them!

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