Elizabeth Drakes's Site

Fantasy Romance

Writing

Writer’s Life: When You Can’t Shut Your Brain Off

by Leave a Comment

One of the things about being a writer that some people often overlook is how much time goes into revisions.

For me, I spend less than 25% of my writing time on the first draft. It’s probably closer to 10%.

revision4
I try to remember this.

Part of it is because I am a pantser. That means I do not do extensive plotting before I start writing. I do spend a lot of time thinking about my characters, their relationship, and their romance. But the actual progression of the story happens as I write. My characters tell it to me, and if I try to be an author-god, it gets bad quickly.

Because I am a pantser, I spend a lot of time revising. I have to go through and make sure the plot works. That characters are consistent throughout. That what happens in act three has the groundwork laid in act one.

Yes, this is a lot of work. But even though I tried again last year to plot out a novel, I made it less than ten thousand words in and was done. The story died. I did write three other first drafts during the year though. Without an outline. *sigh*

Yeah, I don’t like how my brain works either. But I have learned to accept it.

migraine
Well, mostly.

But this does make it difficult to sit back and simply enjoy other works of fiction. Whether an RPG, a movie, or a novel, that editor brain doesn’t seem to shut up.

Interestingly, I have different levels of editor brain depending on the medium.

For example, with video games, I am far more lenient. Yeah, the story is poorly written, the characters inconsistent, and the plot is hanging by a thread, but a lot of the game is the battle mechanics. If it’s a strategy game with cool characters, even inconsistent characters, I am pretty forgiving.

For books and movies, though, I am more merciless.

RomeoJulietNotRomance
Truth.

For example, Frozen II. if you have not watched it and are planning to, and don’t want spoilers, don’t read ahead. But I figure it’s out on DVD now, so it’s safe to talk about.

Yes, Frozen II was a visual spectacle. I give it that. The animation was amazing. The songs are still being sung in my house *grumble*. But the plot? The characters? *shakes head*

  • I really struggled with Elsa simply “freeing” the unknown magic simply because it called to her and might be as confused about its identity and where it belonged as she was. Throughout the story, she is a cautious character very concerned with ruling her people well.
  • Later, we have the trolls tell Anna to protect Elsa from the magic. It is alluring but dangerous. However, then the crux of the story is Elsa literally pushing Anna away and embracing this same magic?
  • Elsa literally dies at one point in the movie, and is magically resurrected. Not sure how…They did establish Olaf coming back with the water has memory, but that doesn’t explain Elsa

All in, while my family loved the movie, I had to suspend a lot of disbelief. Too much.

I am even worse with books because then there are no pretty visuals to distract me.

I try hard to turn off my brain and enjoy entertainment, but I think this difficulty is just what it’s like for a writer sometimes.

However, it also means when something is well, really well, you get that, too.

And then you try to figure out how they did it so you can do it, too.

 

 

Map!!

by

I have had more than a few requests to include a map of Tamryn in my books so readers have a better idea of what the world looks like. This is the main kingdom where many books in the Knights of Valor series are set.

Except, my art skills are…well, I am at the stick figure level.

So, I got myself a late Christmas present, and I paid an artist to create a map. Here is is!

Tamryn-Map-v2LowRes
Map of Tamryn

I still need to figure out how to get it into the actual books, both print and e-books. That is much easier to type than it will be to actually do.

But I was too excited not to share this.

I hope it helps to put the world into perspective.

I am not sure how I will add new places. Or how to create a city map of Aerius itself. Or how to create maps of other places like Qumaref and lands still in the rough draft phase of writing, but right now, I am really happy to have a map of Tamryn.

Writing: When My Muse Writes a Check I Can’t Cash

by

I am contemplating writing a trilogy. Okay, my muse is contemplating it. My brain is saying this is just silly. My muse wants not just three books set in the same world, as most of my work is, but three books that build on each other with an overarching story.

ChallengeAccepted2
Yeah, I think this is bigger than I can chew, too.

But I am hesitant.

I hate it when authors don’t wrap up a story in a single book. I want a beginning, middle, and end. Not that each book I’m planning wouldn’t be stand alone, but there would be something bigger than wouldn’t be resolved until the end of the three stories.

More than that, though, this is a much larger and more ambitious project than any single book. It means crafting six characters, three romances, and having it all work together in a cohesive whole.

It means stretching myself to something I might not be able to do well.

The doubt isn’t helping the creative process.

Demon
Remember him? He’s my Doubt Demon.

Every time I throw these characters into the sandbox of my imagination, they fizzle. While the romances have been working out well, the plot feels weak. The characters roll their eyes at their author-god.

I am in the middle of revising two other novels, so my brain is very much in analytical mode. That doesn’t help, either.

Perhaps I am trying too hard on this. Maybe there is a way to write their stories without so much complication.

Or maybe I should stop worrying, write the series, and let myself fail. Give myself permission to create something terrible, then give myself permission to try to make it better later.

ChallengeAccepted1
Maybe…

Writing: Finished!

by

I finished Siegfried and Sarah.

fireworks-574739_640
Let me celebrate a little!

Yes, the story is only forty-thousand words, but this is how stories work for me.

My first draft are skeletal. I will not be killing my darlings, as frankly, I don’t have many darlings to kill.

bedtime2
He has some really good advice, but I would NEVER let him read me a bedtime story. Ever. I like sleep too much.

But I will later. I will layer on all the things that make the story come to life. Character motivation. What they are thinking and feeling. Maybe even a description of where they are and what they are wearing.
Yes, my first drafts are pretty bare, but they have a beginning, middle and end. They are a complete story, even if they are a very hurried, very incomplete story.

I have come to terms with my methodology of writing. I have learned to trust my inner muse, to let her have free reign on the first draft.

There is only one way to account for stock comp expense, but I believe there is a myriad of ways to write a book. I sometimes think the writing community’s obsession with outlining stems more from our society’s obsession to control things, to understand the process, and then sell that process.

If it works for Stephen King, it must be the correct way!

Except I am not certain this works with creative endeavors the same way it works for accounting. I also think it’s a lot harder to sell the pantsing methodology. You can’t really put together a class on trusting your muse and letting her see you through. And most writers have seen more than our share of classes on how to plot a novel.

I am rambling a bit about process here to hide the sense of loss I am feeling right now.

Miss-You-Cat-Meme.jpg
Siegfried and Sarah’s story is done. After the hours and hours we have spent together, I have their first draft complete.

It is with great sadness, and more than small feeling of loss, that I say goodbye to them.
I always feel such loss when I finish a first draft. I feel a certain sadness as I complete later drafts, but never as much as I do on this first one.

As I bid them farewell and allow them to enjoy their happily-ever-after, it’s time to turn my focus to revisions.

I can’t wait to introduce you to Sarah and Siegfried, but first, Sir Matthias needs his happily-ever-after…

64514455

 

 

 

Wunderlist, Where Have Thou Gone?

by

BabyCrying
Me, trying to learn something new when I don’t want to.

Microsoft bought Wunderlist. Of course they did. Wunderlist was awesome, and Microsoft’s offerings…were not. Wunderlist was voted best product, Microsoft wasn’t. So, as is the case these days, the giant consumed the little guy.

I have been using Wunderlist for almost two years to help keep me on track with writing goals, and this year especially, I have used it as a motivating tool. I have even shared progress reports to help keep myself accountable.

September Update
Like this one.

Of course, I have no idea what Microsoft will do with it. For the moment, I can still access my stuff. Not sure how long.

But I can see the changes coming.

One of the things I loved about Wunderlist was that it was platform neutral because it was all on the web. I could access it from my android phone, my iPad, my laptop, or my MacBook. It was always the same exact screen.

The very first thing the new Microsoft platform wanted was for me to download the app for my specific device.

Uh, yeah, no.

Looks like it still has a web component. For now.

Maybe it will be as easy to use, maybe not.

I get progress, I really do, but I am not sure this is progress. The original program was terrific, met all my needs, and was easy to use. I don’t really want to spend brain power re-learning how to use something I understood before. I just want the darn thing to work.

Of course, I can’t tell you how well the new program works. Because I have to go back and figure out all of the passwords I had simply saved as part of my keychain.

Yeah, I know.

I am the weakest link. But I figured if someone really wanted to steal my To Do list, they could have it. Maybe they’ll even do it for me.

Things I Learned Writing Knight of Valor

by

Pending no major calamities, Knight of Valor will be released at the end of this month. I started writing this book in January of 2015, so it’s taken over four years to write, edit, revise, rewrite, edit again… You get the picture.

During that time, I learned a lot about writing, both the craft aspect of it, but also what works for me. Here are a few things I learned.

You Get Better the More You Write

I was just getting back into writing in 2015 after a long sabbatical, and it was a challenge to write even the first draft. While writing may have a degree of talent, see George RR Martin or Nora Roberts, it also has a huge degree of practice. The more I write, the better I get at it. I have to believe this is also a part of why George RR Martin and Nora Roberts are so amazing. Certainly, I need to read, too. Studying craft books helps as well. But none of that replaces the work of sitting down and crafting a story.

Revising is Crucial

I need to revise. My first draft is far from perfect. So very far. It is mostly a sandbox I have shoveled sand into that becomes the rough lump of a story. Revising turns that lump into a sandcastle. Some stories take more drafts than others. Knight of Valor took more than twenty drafts. A big part of the revision process was making up for how rough the first draft really was. I was out of practice when I wrote it. More recent works have required seven or eight revisions. I almost felt bad about it.  Then I came across this.

revision4
Yeah, even he had to rewrite.

Take Only the Advice That Works for You – Ignore the Rest

Part of the reason this book had so many revisions was I took a lot of advice I shouldn’t have. More benign advice was to write in any order than piece those scenes together. Yeaaaah, no. Doesn’t work for me, and it created a lot more work in the revision process.

For example, I was also reading a lot of craft books on romance as I wrote this, and they were all touting the alpha male as really the only hero most romance readers wanted to read about. So I revised and changed the hero and made him a lot more alpha. But then I didn’t like him anymore, and that meant I didn’t like the story Knight of Valor became. So I revised it again, removing most of the edits I had added, then focusing on really showing who he was instead of what a craft book told me he should be.

 

EatMushroomsAdvice
What works for one author doesn’t always work for another.

 

Write Your Story

Which leads me into my last point: learning to trust myself to write my story. The one I want to tell. The one that reflects my characters. That can be a lot harder than it sounds, as I learned writing Knight of Valor. Doubt is a powerful force, especially when you are working on a story for years at a time. When there are so many things going on around you personally, professionally, and in the world. Sometimes it can seem foolish to question those who “know” what they’re doing. In writing Knight of Valor, I’m glad I did. Even though it took me all those revisions to do it.