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Some things I've learned along the way:
BE OPEN TO ANYTHING
WINTER FALLS started out as historical fiction, set in 16th century Italy. Several months into writing the book, I had the whole thing plotted out but could not write it. I was utterly stuck and didn't know what to do. One day, in conversation with my husband about the book, I suddenly spurted out, "Maybe it doesn't need to be set in the 16th century."
Now, as someone who identifies herself as an historical fiction writer, this was a radical idea, and it scared me. But I let the possibility float in my brain for a couple of days, and when I sat down to write the opening - set in the here and now - it flowed out like water. I found that Alessia's voice came to me much clearer in contemporary language, and the first draft of this version of the book took me only four months to write.
DON'T FORCE IT
I've always loved European history, to the extent that sometimes I still can't quite believe I'm writing American history. Back when I first started BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI, I tried to make Sophie and Rose go to Europe. I swear, I really tried. They just wouldn't do it. If you try to force something to happen, chances are it will backfire.
LISTEN TO YOUR CHARACTERS
Tying into the advice above, your characters are usually one step ahead of you. And listening to them, instead of trying to move them around like pawns on a chessboard, often makes for a smoother collaboration between writer and character. If you are stuck on a plot point, a lot of times just listening to your characters will solve it. Every once in a while, tell a non-writer friend or acquaintence that your characters talk to you. It's a fun trick.
PLOTTER VS. PANSTER: THE AGE-OLD FEUD
A Plotter is someone who plots their story out before they start writing a word. A Panster is someone who flies-by-the-seat-of-their-pants through the book, not knowing what will happen from plot-point to plot-point. Look, people are very opinionated about this and will insist that their way is best. The truth is that the best way is your own way. Just as every writer has their own voice, every writer has their own method of writing. Here's my own experience. I wrote BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI completely by the seat of my pants. It took me almost five years and 750 pages to finish. Then it took me another year to edit down to a 500-page, submission ready manuscript. I loved the feeling of not knowing where the plot and the characters were going, of having every day at the computer be a surprise. But in the long run, it was an unwieldy way to work. With the Nantucket book, I used a Hero's Journey template to track the plot from point to point. I did this after I had about 100 pages of rough stuff, so I had a good idea of the characters and story already. With WINTER FALLS I did something similar, although I did discover that I do need to freewrite for a while before starting to structure the plot. And the template is loose enough to change if it has to, and still allow for a lot of surprises in the actual writing. So my advice is to draw up a very flexible outline, an outline drawn in sand, and work from that. It still allows for a lot of discovery, but will probably save you some grief on the editing end.
LEARN TO BECOME OBJECTIVE ABOUT YOUR WORK
This is a really hard lesson to learn. But it's a necessary one. It took me several months after finishing the rough draft of BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI to become objective about it. What's important about being objective is that once you are, you're able to listen to other people's opinions about the work, sift through and figure out what's helpful and what isn't, and improve the work from there. If you can't listen to constructive criticism, you'll never improve as a writer.
FIND A SUPPORT GROUP
I am very blessed to have the FacethePage group, and another group in Los Angeles that has been a wonderful support system. Not every writer is so lucky. But if you can find a good group it's a beautiful thing. They should be more than a crit group; they should support, nurture and encourage each other.
KEEP GOING
Sometimes it's hard. When BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI didn’t sell, I was devastated. But I didn’t give up writing because I COULDN’T give up. If the passion is there, you don't really have a choice, do you? You have to keep going. You have to get your words in every day, you have to keep following those characters around, you have to keep dreaming.
After I finished the rough draft of WINTER FALLS, I had a hard time at first doing the revisions. I realized it was because I was afraid of having my heart broken again like it was after BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI didn't sell, and that fear was keeping me stuck. Then I realized that even though I was afraid of heartbreak, the thought of not risking it to finish the book was even worse than the fear. Once I broke through that wall, I was able to finish the book.
And remember, the act of writing every day makes you a writer. It isn't the book on the shelf or the title on the NYTimes Bestseller list. It is the simple but courageous act of sitting down to a blank page every day, and filling it with words.
GOOD LUCK!
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