The Insecure Writer and Writing Your Second Book

Today is April's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

What makes me an Insecure Writer this month?

Not knowing if I have a second novel in me or not. 

Those of you who follow this blog regularly know that I finished the first draft of my debut urban fantasy at the end of 2019. I’m now in the editing stages and, though the process can be frustratingly slow at times, I’m confident it will be finished sometime this year. 

I’ve been studying various aspects of marketing and selling books for the past couple of years, and one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that it’s quite advantageous to complete at least two books in your series before you release the first one. The idea is that allowing too much time to pass between releases will cause your fans to forget about you. If you’re a slow writer like me, that’s a real concern. 

Note: I’m not talking about rapid release marketing, the perils of which I discussed in my previous post. 

So, I’ve already begun work on the sequel to my still unfinished debut novel. Crazy? Perhaps, but I’m having fun with it, allowing myself to work on whatever chapter appeals to me at the moment, without the pressure of having to show any of it to my critique partners. I’m happy with the results so far, but will this book be as good as the first? 

That’s a fear all debut writers face. Will I be able to do it again, or did I only have one book in me? 

Optional April 1 question: How am I and the family coping with the current crisis? 

As is the case with most of the rest of you, my entire family is stuck inside the house pretty much the whole day, which means boredom is a constant danger. My son is so bored he actually spent a couple of hours cleaning his room yesterday. Talk about the approach of Armageddon! 

We’ve been reduced to the point where we consider any trip away from our house as a sort of mini-vacation. Here are a few vacation pics of our trip to the local pizza place. 

Excitement is in the air!

Success!

Back home again, ready to recover from our trip

Our next planned outing is driving to Costco to gas up our car. The family is stoked! 

Take care everyone, and stay safe!


ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and the Slippage of Time

Today is November's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.




Why am I an Insecure Writer this month? 

Because time seems to be slipping away from me.

As we enter the month of November, I can’t help but recall how much I originally planned to have written by the end of this year. Needless to say, I’m nowhere close to the goals I set back in January. And my biggest question is: Where did the time go?

While I’ve had bouts of good productivity here and there throughout the year, there always seemed to be a constant succession of life events that diverted me away from writing. Working on Halloween costumes, dealing with a sick cat, helping my wife start up a new business, etc., etc. It never seems to end. I know this kind of problem affects all writers, but until I finally write “The End” on one of my books, I’m always going to wonder if it will ever happen. I’m tired of telling myself, “Just wait till next year.”

On a happier note, my daughter’s Enderdragon costume worked out way better than expected. We had to solve many, many problems to make them functional, and even though we were still applying last minute fixes as late as 5:30pm on Friday, she was able to wear them during the Halloween party and partly through the actual trick or treating. (She had to remove the wings once the winds began gusting outside.)

In a month or two, we’ll start working on the next generation of these wings, since she wants to wear them at the Midwest Media con in the spring. Give me strength!

ChemistKen

The Insecure Writer and Losing Your Voice

Today is July's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.




Why am I an Insecure Writer this month? 

Because I seem to have lost my voice.

 I don’t mean from yelling during the World Cup. I’m referring to my writing voice. That little piece of you that goes into everything you write, whether you realize it or not.

Voice is one of those hard to describe things, but I like to think of it as the sum of all those choices you make when you write. It’s the kind of humor you use (or don't use). It’s how close or distant you make your POV. It’s the ratio of showing vs. telling that feels right for the story. In other words, it's the things that makes your story different from all the other stories out there with the same plot as yours. It’s what agents and editors look for when they read your manuscript.

My voice borders on the whimsical, which is probably why I liked the Harry Potter series so much. But I spent this past week looking back over earlier chapters of my story and my voice seems to be missing. It's there in the earlier drafts, but it's been steadily disappearing with each subsequent draft. Turns out I'd tried so hard to follow the rules, I'd driven the voice right out of my story. Not good.

So my new goal is to make sure my voice comes through loud and clear in each new draft. I can’t guarantee anyone will like it, but at least it won’t sound like everyone else's stories.

The Insecure Writer And Not Knowing How To Tell A Story

Today is June's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.


Update: Last month I was feeling a bit insecure because I wasn’t feeling insecure enough. That’s no longer a problem. I now have a new insecurity, which means I’m a real writer again. Yay! 

So why am I an Insecure Writer this month? 

Because I worry that I’m not a good enough storyteller.

I’ve never considered myself a good writer. I write well enough to publish research papers, but fiction is another animal entirely. Research reports can be, and are often expected to be, rather dry affairs. Nothing but the facts, ma’am, laid down in the proper format. Fiction is different. The choice of words, the subtle use of emotion, the voice; all these things go into the making of a good story, and I’m just not as competent in those areas as other writers I know. I’m not being humble or pessimistic here. It’s a simple fact, and I’ve come to accept it.

Despite this, I always figured if I had a good enough tale to tell, readers might accept my less than stellar writing. But lately I’ve been wondering: what if I really don’t know how to tell a good tale? What if I don’t have the knack for organizing it in order to maximize the tension? What if the parts of the story I find boring (and thus ignore) are the very parts everyone else wants to know? What if I don’t know what I don’t know about storytelling? Hmmm...

Some people know how to tell a story. Others don’t. Am I the former or the latter? Trouble is, I won’t know the answer until my book is finished.

The Insecure Writer and the Sickness of Security

Today is May's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.


Why am I an Insecure Writer this month? 

Hmmm… now that I think about it, I’m not feeling all that insecure at the moment.

I’ve made progress on my manuscripts. I think I understand showing and telling better than I did last month. I even managed to spruce up my blog’s template (Although I still have to add my blog’s name to the masthead! How did I miss that for so long?)

It’s not as if I don’t have plenty of insecurities about my writing, but I’ve documented them all in my previous IWSG posts. I have no new insecurities. That’s good… right?

To be honest, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with the concept of being a secure writer, even if it's only for a little while. I mean, aren’t writers always supposed to be insecure and stressed out over the things they can’t control? Even writers who’ve published more than one book admit to being insecure at times. Look it up on the Internet. Nature abhors vacuums and secure writers. Obviously, something must be wrong with me. 

Well, that settles it. As soon as I’m done with this post, I’m going to sit back and think real hard until I come up with some good old-fashioned, stomach-acid-inducing, not-being-able-to-sleep-at-night insecurities. Because if I can stockpile a few of them, I’ll be able to relax again, knowing I’m a proper writer.

BTW, if you wish to assist me in my quest for sanity, be sure to include your biggest insecurity in the comments below, and I’ll be more than happy to copy the ones I like.

My psychiatrist thanks you in advance.
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BTW, I know another writer who should be feeling pretty secure right now. Her name is Melissa Maygrove, and her debut book, Come Back, will be released next week, so all she has to do now is sit back and wait for the checks and the accolades to come rolling in.

Be sure to stop by her blog and remind her how secure she ought to be feeling. ;)

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Today's co-hosts for May are: Mark Koopmans, Joylene Nowell Butler, Elsie, and Lisa Buie-Collard!

The Insecure Writer and Never Finishing

Today is April's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.

Today, I'm co-hosting the IWSG, along with Hart Johnson, Candilynn Fite, Terri Rochenski, Clare Dugmore, and Lilica Blake!



Why am I an Insecure Writer this month? 

Because I worry I may never actually finish a story.

Not because I plan on giving up writing anytime soon. I’m stubborn enough to keep plugging away at this writing stuff until I get it right. But I’ve just started my third story and I haven’t finished the first two yet. My first story was fan fiction (I bet you can guess which one) and I worked on it for over five years before deciding I should also work on something I could eventually sell. So a year ago, I started work on a MG fantasy, but after spinning my wheels for almost a year with the plot, I decided to shove the MG story to the back burner and begin yet another story. Fantasy, of course.

So here I am, working on or thinking about three different stories and hoping that at least one of them gets finished before the decade ends. Did I also mention I’m a slow writer? 

Sounds utterly disorganized, right? Yep, but that’s my style. I've never been happy working on just one project at a time. I read five or six books simultaneously, choosing to read whichever one I feel like at the moment. Even when I make myself stick to writing one story, I jump around, working on whichever chapter appeals to me on that particular day.

The point is, I hope I don’t end up becoming one of those writers who has a dozen partially finished stories stored on their hard drive and no completed ones to show the world.

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In keeping with this topic, I know someone who no longer has to worry about finishing her book -- because she's already done it! This week, fellow ISWG member Melissa Maygrove revealed the cover to her debut book, Come Back. If you want to support one of your fellow Insecure Writers, hop on over to her blog and show your support.

And one day, maybe you’ll be able to do the same thing for me....

ChemistKen

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About Melissa's book

Sometimes a single choice alters the course of a person's life forever.

Rebecca Garvey had the promise of a California future dreams are made of, until the wagon train her family was traveling with left her behind. Now she’s slowly dying in the wilderness, abandoned and stripped of her self-worth. Once the shock of her desertion turns to embittered despair, she doesn’t want to be found. Then a handsome stranger challenges her convictions and changes her mind.

Seth Emerson knows exactly what he wants. Working to save for a cattle ranch of his own keeps him busy and keeps his pain buried. Rescuing a stubborn woman from the hills of New Mexico Territory isn’t part of his plan—but she’s exactly what he needs.

Seth and Rebecca set off on a risky journey and a quest for truth, each healing the other’s love-starved soul along the way. Will they give in to their growing attraction?  Or will they honor their commitments when Seth returns Rebecca to civilization... and her betrothed?

The Insecure Writer and Ignoring Insecurities

Today is March's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.


Why am I an Insecure Writer this month?

Because I don’t know what the future holds for me as a writer.

Will I get faster at writing?
Will I finally decide whether my book should be in 1st or 3rd person?
Will I learn enough to write a good book?
What will the book market be like in five years?
Will there be so many quality books available that only known authors or authors with good social media/marketing skills be read?
Will I find an agent or will I self-publish?
Will I find I'll never cut it as a writer, no matter how much time I devote to the craft?
Will I ever hit #30 on Alex’s IWSG link list? (Watch out Donna!)

Whew! That’s a lot of insecurities.

Fortunately, I have a tool in my writer’s toolbox more powerful than any of these insecurities. What is it, you ask? I’m blessed with an almost child-like ability to ignore future problems. (Okay, my wife might not consider it a blessing) Every time I read a post explaining some facet of writing I didn’t even know existed, or run across an article about how only fast writers will be successful in the future, or stare blankly for hours at my mess of a manuscript, the insecurities seep into me like winter air under our front door. But then I go to bed and the next day I’ll wake just as naively optimistic as ever, sure everything will work out in the end. Crazy, right?  But it works for me.

So far.

Sometimes, though, I wish Madame Trelawney would just tell me how it’s all going to turn out.

So how do you cope with your writing insecurities?

The Insecure Writer and Being a Slow Writer

Today is December's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.


Why am I an Insecure Writer this month?

Because slow writers like me are fighting an uphill battle.

I’ve posted before about being a slow writer, and when that slowness is coupled with a busy schedule, progress on my WIP often drops to a snail’s pace. And this year has been particularly vexing in that regard. (The details will be the topic of a future post.)  Nevertheless, I've come to accept being a slow writer.  It's who I am. Of course, I still fantasize that one day I’ll be a fast writer, but I’m not holding my breath.

But in these heady days of publishing—especially self-publishing—everything I read suggests an author needs to be prolific to be successful. Book promotions, for instance, are often a waste of time unless the author has several books available for purchase. Several books? Yikes! At the rate I’m going, I’ll be retired before I finish three books.

 Hmmm. The time I’m spending on this post is already making me antsy. I think perhaps I should wrap up this post and get back to my story.

What about you guys? Does not having a lot of published books worry you? Do you feel pressured to finish books as quickly as you can?

The Insecure Writer and a Lack of Quality Mind Wandering Time

Today is November's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.


Why am I an Insecure Writer this month?

Because of the worry that my source of ideas may be running out..

The past several months have been pretty busy, especially October, which is my excuse for not having posted here the last couple of weeks. I suspect laziness played some part too, but that’s another story. And the little time I had left was spent critting. This lack of time didn’t bother me too much. I knew as soon as things lightened up and I had a chance to sit down in front of a computer again, I’d jump back into posting and critting and writing again as if I’d never been away.

What really worried me was my lack of quality time for generating new ideas. Turns out my best ideas come to me when I’m in the shower, or driving to and from work, or taking walks by myself—basically the times when my mind can free-associate. It’s the part of writing I’ve always enjoyed the most. Just allowing my mind to wander and letting those ideas come pouring in. Getting them down on paper is the hard part.

But as I’ve learned these past couple of months, these ideas only come when my mind can wander around guilt-free. If there’s something else I know I should be thinking about, like the next day’s lecture for the chemistry class I teach, or the homework I should be grading, or the next meeting of robotics class I’m coaching, or projects I should be doing at home—the ideas just don’t come. When I know there are other things I should be thinking about, concentrating on my story is hard. And it had been such a long time since I’d had any new good ideas, I worried that maybe the ideas weren’t going to come anymore.

Fortunately, I've discovered this will not be a problem. My plate is still pretty full, but I’ve been able to work up a schedule that allows me to fulfill all my obligations and still leaves me with a few hours of guilt-free mind wandering time. And the ideas are beginning to return. Thank goodness!

 Finally, an Insecure Writer’s post that ends on a happy note.

The Insecure Writer and Social Media

Today is October's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.


Why am I an Insecure Writer this month?

Because of social media.  (Shivers).

It's no secret I'm not very savvy when it comes to social media.  I've always been a bit of an introvert, and I've never been very comfortable with the idea of sending out updates on the status of my life or my current thoughts. I've toyed around with Twitter, but most of my tweets are direct messages (DMs) to people I know. One big barrier is the fact that I can't connect with either Twitter or Facebook at work.  And after I come home, eat dinner, and take care of family responsibilities, I only have about an hour or two to spend on social media and writing.  And every minute I spend on Twitter is one less minute I could be writing.  Besides, I feel silly retweeting something that happened eight hours ago.

I guess you could say I spend more time and energy avoiding social media than I do using it.

My lack of social media kung fu was brought home to me last week during Melissa Maygrove's Follow Fest.  I made many new social media connections during the blogfest, but if I don't get onto Twitter soon, I'm not going to be interacting with any of them.

So here's my current status on the various social media sites:

Facebook:  Haven't updated it for years, although I do occasionally post on blogs of friends and family. Haven't decided if I going to stick with a profile page or create a fan page once I'm published.  But if I don't start posting on Facebook regularly, what difference does it make?

Twitter:  It's been so long since I've even checked on Twitter that I only just discovered my version of TweetDeck is so old it won't even run.  And there doesn't appear to be an updated version for Linux, which is what I run on that particular computer.  What do you guys say?  Should I put Windows back on my computer or should I look into Hootsuite?

Pinterest:  Finally followed a few other people's boards this week.  Haven't uploaded any new pictures in half a year.

Google+:  Didn't even remember I had set up an account until a few people asked to connect with me. Embarrassing!

Goodreads:  I've had an account for over a year, but--no surprise--haven't done anything with it.  Not even sure what my password is.  Bad writer!  Bad, bad writer!

Amazon Author Page:  Almost makes me glad I'm not published, so that I don't have to worry about starting one up... yet.

ISWG: At least I've been diligent here, slowly working my way down to number 60 on the ISWG list.  My goal is to make it to 50!

Sigh...  It looks to be a long road ahead for social media and me.
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The co-hosts this month are Julie Luek, Rachna Chabria, Beverly Fox, and Ilima Todd!  Be sure to stop by their blogs and say hello.

BTW.  Good luck to Alex with his new book, CassaStorm.

The Insecure Writer and Co-Hosting the Insecure Writers Support Group

Today is September's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.


Why am I an Insecure Writer this month?

Because of the awesome responsibility of being one of the co-hosts for this month’s Insecure Writers Support Group.

For those of you new to this group, the IWSG was created by Alex Cavanaugh as an outlet for writers to express their insecurities to other writers, almost all of whom have their own anxieties. It’s an incredibly supportive group, so if you’re an insecure writer, click on the link above and join up. We meet the first Wednesday of every month.

The other co-hosts this month are SL Hennessy, Michelle Wallace, and Joylene Nowell Butler! Be sure to stop by their blogs and say hello.

Again, many thanks to Alex, both for creating this bloghop and for inviting me aboard.

The Insecure Writer and Deciding Whether to Self-Publish

Today is May's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.


Why am I an Insecure Writer this month?

Because I don’t know which route I’m going to take—traditional or self-publishing.

Now it might seem I’m jumping the gun here a bit, especially when you consider I’ve only recently begun working on my first potentially publishable manuscript. Even if my productivity were to suddenly skyrocket, it will be at least a year before the story is polished enough for publication. And by that time, the publishing world may have changed so much that any decisions I make now might be irrelevant.

So why worry about it now? Because I’m wrestling with a few questions about my story—questions whose answers may depend upon the route I take to publication. .I know what my story is about and I know the setting (magic, castles, humorous characters, etc.), but I still haven’t decided on the age of the main character. Right now, he’s fourteen, making it an upper MG story, which means I need to write with an upper MG style. I have no problem with that, but I can also envision the story with an older MC, one who has recently graduated from college. In that case, the style would be different—something like Harry Potter meets The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. (If you haven’t read either one of these series, you should.) As it stands right now, I haven’t decided which style plays more to my strengths, or which style would be more interesting to potential readers.

Now I could just let these things sort themselves out as I write, but I worry that the correct choice may ultimately depend upon the method I choose for publication. Most of the self-published books I find on Amazon involve older characters*, whereas most of the MG stories are traditionally published. From what I understand, libraries and parents are less inclined to buy self-published MG books, unless from an established author, since there are no assurances a self-published book wouldn’t be full of profanity or other topics unsuitable for MG readers. In other words, if I write the story with a MG MC, I better hope I find an agent and publisher. Then again, I've heard many adults enjoy reading MG books, so who knows?

Perhaps I’m getting the cart before the horse and should just write whatever version of the story most appeals to me and worry about the publishing route later. But that’s what being an Insecure Writer is all about, right?.

If anyone has any thoughts on the subject, I’d love to hear them.

*BTW, I’ve ignored YA in this analysis, since I suspect I’d be terrible at writing YA.

The Insecure Writer and The New Year

Today is January's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.


What makes me an Insecure Writer this month?

The fact that my progress last year was abysmally slow and I have no idea if this year will be any better.

Last January, my goal was to finish revising my story by Christmas. An entire year dedicated to accomplishing this one, seemingly simple task. Needless to say, I missed that goal. By quite a lot. Despite making good progress on the story at the end of the year (I was off from work the last two weeks in December), I’m still only a quarter of the way through the story. At this rate, it’ll be three more years before it’s finished. Argh!

Despite these facts, I’m still hopeful that my New Year’s resolution of finishing the story by Christmas 2013 is doable. Misguided optimism? Probably, but I think things will move more quickly this time around. The first quarter of my story required massive restructuring and that accounted for the lion’s share of my writing time. I believe (hope, pray) that subsequent chapters are  in better shape and will go more quickly – although my critique partner may have something to say about that.

My other New Year’s resolution is to cut down on the number of blogs I read. I follow well over a hundred blogs – or so my RSS feed tells me – but I simply don’t have the time to keep up with the majority of them any longer. And after three years of reading posts about writing, there isn’t much I haven’t seen dozens of times already. So, during the next couple of months, I’m going to whittle down the number of blogs I read - concentrating on websites that either give the best writing advice or those that I read for enjoyment.

Happy New Year!

The Insecure Writer and Being Slow at Writing

Today is July's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.




In my ISWG post back in January , I fretted over my painstakingly slow progress and worried aloud that my book would never get finished. I set Christmas 2012 as my target completion date and promised to give you an update of my progress in June. Well, it’s July and it’s time for that update.

Since this an Insecure Writer’s post, you’ve probably guessed by now that the news is not good. Unless some sort of miracle occurs – an accident in the lab where I ingest a chemical mixture that turns my brain into a writing machine, I lose my job and spend my time sitting at home with nothing else to do but write, someone writes a piece of software that can take a rudimentary rough draft and convert it into publishable prose at the click of the mouse – I’m not going to reach my goal. Not by a long shot.

Out of a thirty chapter first draft, I’ve only managed to give my critique partner the first four chapters. That’s less than a chapter a month. You don’t need to be a math major to know that isn’t going to cut it. To be honest, the lion’s share of this time was spent rewriting the first two chapters repeatedly to fix a structural problem my CP was kind enough to point out, so I expect things to move along more quickly now.

But I’m still in trouble.

And this brings me to this month’s insecurity. Every time I load up a chapter to send to my CP – a chapter I thought was in good shape back when I wrote it last year - I’m shocked to discover just how much more work it needs before I can send it out. I’m not talking cosmetic changes here. I'm referring to missing paragraphs replaced with the words “mention XXX here” or “describe the character” marked in red. Entire pages that need to be rewritten to align with changes I’ve since made to the plot. Scenes that need reordering. It’s gotten to the point where I’m more comfortable spending hours tweaking a chapter I’ve already sent off to my CP than with moving on to the next chapter and having to discover just how much more work it needs.

To help give myself the illusion of accomplishing something, I’ve added a progress bar to the blog to track my manuscript. It’s rudimentary and I may jazz it up a bit later, but it’ll do for now. Its purpose is to shame inspire me to write more quickly. If any of you ever notice the bar hasn’t moved in a while, feel free to ding me for slacking off.

Have a happy 4th of July (for those of you in the states)!

Rowling's Way or the Publisher's Way?

I’ve been in a bit of a quandary lately. I might even go so far as to call it a crisis of sorts. As many of you who follow this blog are aware, I’m writing a story based around Hogwarts, the school of magic invented by J.K.K. Rowling. Although this all started out as an exercise to discover how Rowling might go about writing another series based on her wizardring world, I’m now using this story to teach myself the art of writing fiction. And believe me; the amount of information I’ve learned so far is staggering.

The thing is, my goal is to write the story as close to Rowling’s style as possible – partly because I feel my style is naturally similar to hers (although still pretty raw) and partly because I have a pet peeve against fan fiction that doesn’t sound as though it was written by the original author.

And therein lies the problem.

I want to use this story as a learning tool, but Rowling’s style breaks a good many of the so-called rules. She often wrote in a distant third person, occasionally drifting into omniscient POV, which American agents and publishers don’t care for as much as their British counterparts (or so I’ve been told). She mixed in a lot of telling along with her showing, her pages were filled with adverbs, and she used a ton of dialogue tags other than “he said.”

Now when I read the HP books, I didn’t notice any of these “rule-breakages” until I began learning the “rules.” Rowling’s style has been described as feeling as though you are being told a story rather than experiencing it, which is supposed to be a bad thing, but personally I often enjoy that style – as did, apparently, legions of her fans. It has to be done well, of course, and the narrator has to have an attitude of some kind (funny, sarcastic, etc.) or it won’t work. But I feel it is a valid style.

The upshot of all this is that I’m always running into situations where my CP reminds me I’m not following the rules I’m supposed to be learning, which can be maddening when I can find Rowling doing the exact same thing in her books. So should I stay with the way Rowling does it or should I follow all the rules?

So what do you think?  I would very much like to hear your opinions.

Thanks for listening.

The Insecure Writer and a Lack of Ideas

Today is May's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.






What makes me insecure as a writer this month? Two things, actually. First, I noticed a good percentage of my posts this year have been for the monthly Insecure Writers Support Group, which tells me I’ve been lax about posting in a timely manner. Some of this had to do with my reluctance to spend what little time I have on my blog until I finished the structural rewrite of my first two chapters. I’m pleased to say the rewrites are essentially done, so my postings should become more frequent. No promises, though. Now that my WIP is moving forward again, I’m even more driven to spend time on it.

The main reason I’m insecure this month is because I’m worried about whether I’ll be able to come up with enough ideas for my next book. Now this might seem odd considering that I’m still probably at least a year away from finishing my current WIP, but this concern always sits there in the back of my mind.

You see, I’ve had (and continue to have) no problem coming up with ideas for my current WIP. In fact, I’ve had to strip many of them out simply because the book was becoming too long. One of the reasons I started to write a story about the further adventures at Hogwarts was because I found it so easy to dream up the wild and crazy stuff that happens there. But when this story is done, I’ll want to write something I can legally sell, so I’ll have to move on to my own worlds. And I have no idea whether the ideas will flow as easily once I walk away from Rowling’s world.

I already have the basic plots for two different story lines in my head, but it’s the filler scenes – the ones that flesh out a story - that have me worried. I’m afraid that, without the wonderful world Rowling created, I won’t be able to come up with enough new ideas to keep the story interesting.

Do any of you unpublished (or published) authors have the same fear? The fear that after pouring your heart and soul into your first book you won’t have anything left for another? If so, let me hear about them.

Mental Blocks and the Insecure Writer

Today is April's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.






What makes me most insecure as a writer this month? Getting stuck in a scene or chapter and not having a clue how to get past the problem. In fact, it happened to me two weeks ago. I needed to rewrite a chapter using a different POV and the difficulties in delivering all the necessary information to the reader in this new format were kicking my butt. I sat and thought about it for a long while and piddled around with the words on the page, but nothing happened.

Eventually I did what I always do in these situations. I just sat down and started banging away at the keyboard. I don’t bother trying to reason my way out of the mess. I just try things. Randomly, if need be. Moving sections around, adding stuff here, taking stuff out there. Rewriting sentences over and over again until I’m sure I’ve tried all possible permutations. A brute force approach. Just hammering away at the WIP for days (or weeks) until I finally hit upon the right answer (usually by accident) and then everything falls into place and the world is right once again.

So far this technique has never failed me – assuming I don’t stop until I’ve solved the problem. But hammering away at your WIP based on a blind faith that there must be a solution and that you will find it is a surefire way to feed your insecurities. Especially after a week or two.

Just so you know. I solved my problem about three days ago, so my sleep patterns are back to normal.

The Insecure Writer and the Revision Process

Today is February's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.




I’ll be honest with you. If my monthly post for the Insecure Writers Support Group wasn’t due today, I probably wouldn’t have posted. Embarrassment can do that to you.

Last week I promised I would finish the initial revision of my first chapter by the end of the weekend -- no matter what. Well, it’s Wednesday, and I still haven’t finished. It’s almost there, probably about 99% complete, but it’s not finished. (Hangs head in shame)

I wish I could say it was because I didn’t spend enough time with my manuscript or that I didn’t stay up late enough or that drinking was involved – but that wasn’t the problem. I just couldn’t come up with any good ways to fix a few problem areas. I find it maddening (and slightly ridiculous) that I’ve been screwing around with these same fourteen pages for over three weeks now -- with most of that time spent on the first two paragraphs. At this rate, my kids will be published authors before I finish this story.

The funny part about all this is that the idea of revising and polishing and tightening my manuscript sounds kind of sexy to me – at least in theory. I occasionally have to write computer programs, and like a lot of programmers, once the program is behaving properly I have an almost irresistible urge to go in and tighten up the code. Removing useless bits of code, converting ten lines of code into two, improving the user interface. Stuff like that. It just gives me a warm cozy feeling.

But that’s because I know what I’m doing when I program. But until my writing skills improve, it’s always going to be a struggle when it’s time to revise my manuscript. I can tell (usually) when something needs to be fixed, I’m just bad at coming up with ways to actually fix the problem.

Does anyone else have these kind of problems during the revision process?

The Insecure Writer - Part III

Today is January's contribution to Alex Cavanaugh's Insecure Writers Support Group.




The fact that I find it so easy to come up with reasons why I’m insecure as a writer makes me feel insecure as a writer.

That’s my happy thought for the New Year.
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I spent much of Christmas vacation working on my book. I’m pleased to say I accomplished quite a lot – tightening up early chapters, fleshing out some of the middle ones, and outlining the last third of the book. In fact, it’s gotten to the point where I can now visualize the book as a finished product sometime in the (distant?) future.

Then why am I insecure? Because I’m gaining a better understanding of everything that is necessary to finish a book. Despite my recent progress, I’m a bit worried that I may be even farther away from finishing than I first thought. It seems the more I learn about writing, the more I realize how much more needs to be done before I can consider the book finished. I’ve spent two and a half years on this story so far and I despair that it might take another two and a half before it’s done. I just don’t know right now.

Nevertheless, my New Year’s resolution is to have it completely finished by next Christmas. Is this a realistic goal? I’ll let you know in June.

Even My Twelve Year Old Daughter Knows About Showing vs. Telling

All I can say is OMG!

Today I let my twelve-year-old daughter read the first chapter of my story to get her opinion on its current state. Since she loves anything having to do with Harry Potter, I wasn't expecting much in the way of criticism. (She thinks any YouTube video set to the music of the Benny Hill theme song is awesome, so her bar of excellence isn't set too high).

So I asked her about the very first paragraph, and she told me that it would be better if I showed more instead of telling. I kid you not! Once I picked myself off the floor, I asked where she had heard the terms "Showing" and "Telling", and she replied, "her sixth grade English class."

I'd only heard about Showing and Telling two years ago. Man, they're teaching kids a lot faster these days.