JuNoWriMo Lessons: Don't Let the Goal Get in the Way of the Writing

This week, I hit the halfway point. Yay! But I always have a lot fewer of my scenes actually mulling around in my head for the second half of the book, which makes it harder. Yesterday, I got to a scene that I had no idea what to do with. I forced out some words, intent on reaching my wordcount goals.

It was a disaster.

The scene came to a standstill. It just wasn't working, and I could feel that. I knew what it really needed-- time for me to think about it. But I didn't have time! I only get so much writing time a day, and I had to get those words out, darnit!

I got incredibly frustrated and knew I wouldn't be able to write anymore until I thought through the scene. And I remembered something important.

This isn't about the wordcount.

Yes, my goal is 2,000 words a day, but the goal is just a means to an end. My PURPOSE in making this goal is to challenge myself to write more so I can get a better, faster first draft turned out. And by forcing myself to pound out words that weren't working, I wasn't reaching the purpose of my goal. I was letting the goal dictate, and it got in the way of the story.

I'm glad I realized it in time, because after some thought, I came up with a better way to write this scene that actually requires some minor changes BEFORE this point. It will enhance the conflict, and make the story better. And that's the point.

So, my friends, how are your goals going? What frustrates you when you write? How do you solve those frustrations?

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Why do you love writing?

I'm not going to lie-- I'm exhausted. I'm 1,000 words behind for JuNoWriMo, but most of the exhaustion comes from just having too much fun this week. :) I've spent a lot of time in the canyon with my little family, and I also checked out a DVD on Jazz dance from the library for research. My MC in TUGL is a dancer, and I haven't danced since I was a kid. It's been fun to do my exercise to the DVD, but it sure is exhausting!

So today's post is going to be short. I've been thinking a lot lately about how much I love writing. Not that it isn't hard, and I don't have moments where I want to chuck my computer through the window. But I really do love writing.

My mom says she knew I was going to be a writer from the time I was a toddler. Instead of taking a pencil and paper and coloring, I would draw careful circles across the paper in nice straight lines-- my excuse for letters. I remember writing stories in notebooks, and how excited I was to get to use my dad's old computer (it ran on DOS! Oy, that makes me feel old.) to write my stories. Even the actual act of sitting down to write still excites me as I wonder what will happen in my story today that's different from what I've already got planned.

I'm not sure why I've loved writing since I was so little, but I think it has something to do with the joy of creation. I've always loved reading because I could escape into new and exciting worlds. What I love about writing is that I get to CREATE new and exciting worlds. I get to invent new people, fascinating challenges, and vivid settings, all inside the frame of an entertaining story. And it is SO DANG FUN.

So, my friends, why do you love writing? Do you love the actual writing part, or do you love having written? How did you discover your love for writing?

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4 Tips for How to Write a Mystery into your Novel

When I was in college, I had a roommate who made life extra fun. One day, she came walking in the door with a dart board. She'd walked into one of our friend's apartments during a party and lifted it off the wall without anyone noticing. She put it up front and center in our living room, and said she wanted to see how long it would take them to notice it was gone. If they noticed it was theirs when they came to visit, they could of course have it back.

And so began the Wall-O-Klepto.

It became an enormous practical joke, where we'd sneak things from our friend's places and put them on display. Most people noticed right away and got their stuff back. It took the dartboard guys a little longer.

And then there were the bowling pins. We stole them from a couple guys a few houses down from us, put them on top of the TV...and a few days later, they had been stolen from us. We got a ransom note, followed by several more (including a clever little one that came in the form of one of those "have you seen this person" postcards in the mail).

We were positive it was the guys across the street, and we HAD to get those things back-- after all, they weren't ours. We tried several tactics, including sneaking into their house while they were gone, but never managed to find those pins. And, of course, we refused to give into the ransom. In the end, it turned out that the culprits were actually the guys we'd stolen the pins from in the first place.

It was quite the exciting and hilarious mystery. And it gave me some clues for writing mystery into my novels, which most novels require! Whether you're writing a whodunit or not, there is nearly always a taste of mystery-- the reader wants to know the answer to the story question. In TUGL, my wip, there's actually a more traditional mystery than I'm used to writing, and I'm learning a few things.

1. Determine the Wants and the Obstacles

Nathan Bransford recently wrote a fabulous post on this, focusing on the idea that mysteries are about people. Your character WANTS something they can't get right away. There are obstacles. Even if you're a pantser, it really helps to define those wants and obstacles before you start writing. They may change as you write, but if you don't have them to start with, the mystery is going to take some serious rewriting.

2. Displace Suspicion

As I'm writing TUGL, I'm so afraid that it's obvious who the thief is. Because I know who it is! And I'm placing all these clues and foreshadowings. It seems so obvious. But one of my favorite techniques is to displace suspicion: make the characters have GOOD REASON to suspect someone else. Even multiple someone else's. It makes the reader's wheels spin as they try to determine who THEY think is the thief.

3. Let the Characters Get it Wrong

This goes along with displacing suspicion. As you place clues, let the characters get things wrong. They don't have to know exactly what the clues mean. Let them go down the wrong path and suffer the consequences. It makes things more exciting, and provides a handy obstacle. Of course, you don't want them to get everything wrong. Then when you reveal the true solution, the reader won't buy it.

4. Do More than Leave Clues-- Foreshadow

In order for the reader to buy that ending, it helps to foreshadow things ahead of time. This can be in the form of clues, but it should include other things that aren't clues. You can have a character make an off-handed comment, or make a note of a character trait, or any number of things. It will make the reader scream, "I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN!!" at the end, which is much better than, "Huh?"

So, my friends, what kinds of mysteries do you like to write? What kinds do you like to read? What do you do when writing to enhance the mystery of your own story?

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What Constitutes "Dark" in Literature?

As I was standing in James Dashner's signing line at the Utah Festival of Books on Saturday, a teenage girl asked me a question. "A friend told me The Maze Runner is really dark. Did you think so?"

I was quite surprised by the question. I told her that the book was about a bunch of teenagers in a very horrible and sometimes violent situation. However, I didn't find it to be dark. To me, the book focused on these boys banding together to win over the atrocities that were done to them. While terrible things happened, it never felt dark to me.

With the recent hullabaloo about YA getting too dark, I found this to be an interesting question. Is YA getting too dark? I think it depends on your definition.

I'll admit, there are some subject matters in YA that I personally don't want to read. There are some books I would have to read myself and discuss with my (future) teenager before I'd determine if I'd let them read it. I do not like books in general that have intense amounts of swearing, sex, or gory violence, and I won't let my kids read books that have too much of any of those. (Though that's NOT to say I would order any book banned from general consumption-- everyone has a right to make their own choices.)

This is a personal opinion. And that is where the issue of darkness comes to: we all have different definitions of what is inappropriate, and different ideas of what "dark" means. I had a friend in high school who refused to watch the Lord of the Rings movies, because she said they were too dark. I was surprised. I found the story to be inspiring. Good triumphs over evil, right? How could Frodo and Sam's friendship be anything but inspiring? That doesn't mean I'm right and she's wrong-- we simply looked at the movie in different ways.

In my opinion, darkness isn't just something inappropriate. It's what you find when a terrible situation is presented, and in the end, the darkness wins. And actually, that's not even entirely accurate. In the book 1984, Big Brother wins. But I didn't find that book dark. Frightening, yes. But it was a warning, a message to be careful what we did with our world. Darkness is when something evil is portrayed as good, as acceptable. And that is a kind of book I won't read.

There are tough subject matters in many books, YA or not. I found The Kite Runner to be very difficult to read. It was eye-opening in a horrendous way, but I won't ever read it again. It's not one that I necessarily recommend, even though I didn't dislike it and even though it ended on a note of hope. There are books in YA that deal with some of the difficult issues kids face today. Some I've read; some I haven't; some I don't want to. Some I don't want my kids to read, either. Those books might be right for some people, but not for me.

So, my friends, I want to know. What do you think constitutes "dark" in literature? Are there things you don't read, and choose not to let your children read? What do you feel is inappropriate in books? I'll be taking part in the discussion in the comments today, rather than by email, so let's talk about it.

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It's no BEA, but the Utah Festival of Books Rocked

On Saturday, I packed the Kiddo into the car and headed off to my alma mater, BYU, for the Utah Festival of Books. I was excited for books and the people who write them. He was excited to be outside. It was a win-win situation.

It was fun and a little surreal to be back on campus again, pushing a stroller. We started off with the kids games. The Kiddo colored a lovely paper hat he refused to wear, and enjoyed watching the people dressed as children's book characters: Madeline, Winnie the Pooh, Clifford the dog, and, um, Darth Vader. Yup, he's the first one I think of when children's books come to mind. He went fishing and got a sticker, and then won a book on the Book Walk.

We stood in line for quite a while for James Dashner's signing, but the awesome thing about waiting in lines like that is you meet people who love the books you do. I got my book signed, and to my surprise, James remembered me from BYU's Life, the Universe, and Everything symposium (and from winning one of his signed ARC's of The Scorch Trials-- it helps sometimes to have a weird name!). I, of course, had forgotten my camera, but he was kind enough to post for a cell phone picture. Twice, since I accidentally deleted the first one.

I met the awesome Kiersten White, as well, and got Paranormalcy signed. Meeting the authors I admire always gets me a little giddy! It's inspiring to meet the people who write books, just like the rest of us, and have reached those goals I'm still reaching for. It's like a pep talk without the talk. Sadly, I couldn't get a picture with her because my cheapo phone camera doesn't work well outside. I also met this lovely lady in line. Go check out her fabulous book blog!

We got a little lunch at the Scoreboard Grill, bringing back some lovely memories. By then, the Kiddo was sick of sitting in the stroller, so I let him run around. He ended up leading us to the Museum of Art, where we found what I'm fondly calling the Big Block of Books. It's big. It's a block. It's made entirely of books. It was freakin' awesome.

And then, home we went. It was an awesome day with just me, the Kiddo, and a whole lot of books. I leave you with this quote from the few minutes of Brandon Mull's presentation I caught: "Just because you grow up doesn't mean you have to break up with your imagination."

So, my friends, did you do anything fun this weekend? What is your favorite book-related event you've been to?

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JuNoWriMo Lessons: You CAN Keep Writing When You Think You Can't

So the first week of JuNoWriMo is a success! I got just over 2,000 words every single day, and TUGL is now sitting pretty at 16,000 words. Honestly, I'd forgotten how much I love first drafting and the joy of discovering new directions and details. It's so much FUN!

And, well, so much work, too. I plotted the novel ahead of time, but I didn't plan each and every scene (that's just not how I work!). So sometimes, I knew I hae to get from point A to point B, but wasn't sure how to get there in an exciting, character-revealing way. I'd be ready to throw in the towel for the night-- but then I'd check and realize I still had 800 words to write for that day's goal. I learned something quite important this week: Even when you think you can't write another word, you'd be surprised to find you can still squeeze out another 800. It was incredibly helpful to force myself a little bit in those tough sections. It actually pushed my creativity a little farther than it's used to going, and I discovered I can do more than I thought.

2,000 words a day takes me between 2 and 3 hours. It's sometimes tough to find the time-- in fact, on the first day of June, I got an enormous work project due the next day (I work from home), and had to spend 4 precious hours doing that. But with the help of the ever-supportive Hubby, I still got my writing in. It's been a challenge, but so far, it's a challenge I'm loving! And it's teaching me that I CAN keep going, even when I think I'm ready to stop (or don't even have the time to start).

So, my friends, what writing goals did you reach this week? What lessons did you learn? What are your goals for next week?

P.S. Check out my new pic on the sidebar-- I chopped my hair off! 10 inches gone and donated, and I love the new cut. :)

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How to Write Fascinating Characters by Making them Contradictory (AND it's JuNoWriMo!)

It's here, my friends-- JuNoWriMo! Pick a writing goal, any writing goal, and join the party! I may not be as active in the blogging world this month as I try to bang out my personal goal of 2,000 words a day, but I'll still be around.

Let's talk about something to get the JuNo writing gears flowing. Characterization is a big focus for writers, as it should be. We often talk about how to make them likeable, and relatable, and complex, but today I want to talk about making them fascinating.

You see, my favorite characters were the ones that were larger than life. They have huge imaginations like Anne Shirley, or brilliant, tortured minds like Ender Wiggin. Those characters stick with me because they stand out in a crowd. One way I learned to do this is quite simple: give your characters contradictory traits.

In Brandon Sanderson's writing class of pure awesome, we did an exercise with characters. We started by picking a gender and age of a character who might be walking down the street in our story. Then he had us yell out a profession they might have-- and picked the most contradictory one. For example, we had an 80-year-old woman who was an assassin. Then we picked another character trait that was opposite the profession. Our 80-year-old assassin was a champion knitter.

See how fascinating that character is? We don't even have a story for her to be in yet, but we already want her to be in a story because we want to know what she'll do. She stands out in the crowd.

If you're doing YA, you can still do this with characters who don't have a profession. Pick a hobby instead, and then pick traits that contradict your expectations. Here are a few examples from my JuNoWriMo project, The Unhappening of Genesis Lee:

Estelle, the French ballet teacher who is Muslim. (And yes, that actually CAN work with her religion.)

Kai, the bouncy-ball-collecting nerd who is sometimes frightening in his intense desires to save the world.

Kai's father, the minister who became a bar tender to reach more people.

Gena, the pacifist ballet-dancing protagonist, who wants to be an astronomer and ends up fighting the system to save the world.

See how fun it is to create contradictory characters? They're a lot of fun to write, too.

So, my friends, do you like to write contradictory characters? Who are some of your favorite contradictory characters in books or movies? What other strategies do you use to make your characters larger than life?

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