Off to the WRITE start! Here comes 2013!

Yes, it's time to talk about that GOAL-SETTING monster, but...

Here's what I've learned about setting goals over the years:

1. It's important to write them down.
2. It's important to write them down.
3. It's important to WRITE THEM DOWN!


You need to have the goals where you will see them regularly. For me, this is the inside cover of my journal. I have that good habit established, writing daily, by hand, with pen and paper, no matter the day or circumstance. That means I see that journal daily and I'll see my goals daily. Last year, I set 23 writing goals, and reached 14 of them. But what's even more important to me than having the goals there where I can see them, is this:

REVIEWING what I've accomplished during the year so far. It's easy to forget what you're doing well after you've read your latest rejection letter, especially if it's one of those form letter rejections. When you see goals that you HAVE attained, it's a bit of a buffer--it adds some tough hide to that rhinoceros skin you need to develop as an author who sends work out to others.

I also think that, contrary to the current teaching of setting a few goals and focusing on those, I believe in setting many goals--some that I believe are attainable with hard work (writing so many poems, short stories, or novels within a year, for example); some that are somewhat outside of my control and depend on others as well (winning a major writing contest or landing a book contract); and some that are dreamlike (winning the Writer's Digest contest, the overall prize that includes $3000 and a trip to NY along with a fully-paid for conference and private meetings with agents and editors!). Last year, I met all of my production goals, and won two major contests, including one I'd never even been shortlisted in before. I also had a "dream" goal come true--hearing established, best-selling writers gush about a story of mine in front of 800 other writers at a conference (in my dream, there was more champagne involved, but still...!). It's a moment I won't soon forget, and Jack Whyte and Diana Gabaldon's comments will stay with me in those dark times when others say, "It's not right for us at this time."

For 2013, I aim to write 1 new novel, 6 new short stories, 20 poems, publish work in at least three major Canadian literary journals, land a book contract, do better in 2013 than I did in 2012, along with 21 OTHER writing goals which include an important one...

...to update this blog DAILY with writer ideas useful to others who may find there way here! Here's to a successful 2013--I hope you meet your writing goals too!

Happy New Year! from Ace Baker

NANOPLANNING STEPS SIX and SEVEN

Ok, I'm guilty of not posting steps on here because I was, ahem, a bit behind in planning my own Nano novel...time to catch up!

Step Six involves taking each section written about in step five and writing a full page of actual manuscript as it might appear in that part of the book. This is no longer description of what it's about; it's actual story. What this forces you to do is to start thinking in the "voice" of different sections of your book. You may use this writing later on, or you may not, but it's good practice, and it's just short of the daily output requirement for Nanowrimo--about 1250 words, instead of the 1633 you'll need to write daily to reach your November goal...

Step Seven is a huge one, and our Inner Circle of 28 has been working on it for a while now:

This step is a big outline, from the beginning of your novel until the end. Basically, you aim to describe, very briefly, 100 "scenes" from your novel--not chapters, but scenes. If you can do that, you will have enough material to fill a 50 000+ -word novel. Anywhere from 80-100 scenes generally leads to success. What to do if you're tapped out at 50 scenes? Add a subplot. Add a character with his or her own secret or story. Throw your protagonist into some kind of deeper trouble. For each scene, I find it helpful to list whose point of view we're seeing the scene through, a brief description, and an idea of whether it will be a small, medium, or long scene ( I actually attempt to guesstimate page numbers when I do it, but my guesses are always wrong...!). A typical entry might look like this:

1. Chouko ("butterfly girl") --she reveals the abusive relationship between Dad & Mom (short scene)
2. Chouko-- Abuse poem, followed by us witnessing Chouko's "escape"--catching butterflies (medium scene)
3. Chouko--learning how to make a "killing jar" and slowly gathering the materials she needs (longer scene)

And it's that easy...list 100 scenes like that, and you'll have a novel planned out from beginning to end. Now, realize, I have NEVER seen anyone totally stick to a plan. Usually characters take over at some point and start telling you to write things you never thought you'd write. That's perfectly normal. It's good to have a plan you can feel flexible about than to have no plan at all. That way, on days when you're stuck, you can "jump ahead" to a part you KNOW you can write. Good luck as we begin NANOWRIMO!

NANOPLANNING PART FOUR: Character summary

Today is step four of seven in our quest to prepare for Nanowrimo 2012. Today, we get a bit more inside the mind of some of our main characters. Use a sentence or two for each of the following six sections for each major character in your novel (or at least the two you did character profiles for):

Character snapshot: Briefly, who are these people? For example, in the new novel I'm working on, Arietta is a cross between Robin Hood and Joan of Arc. That should already put some of her qualities into your mind...

Motivation--why are the characters acting the way they are now, in the present? Backstory.

Goal--related to motivation, but bigger. What do these people want out of life? Future-oriented.

Conflict--What's the main problem that's preventing characters from getting what they want?

Epiphany--What are they going to learn? How will they grow and change?

Direction--where the character is generally headed in life.

INNER CIRCLE:

Look at the handout I'm giving you today to see a full character summary on Roxy Lee, a character in one of the novels I've written in the past. Keep in mind that instead of a Monday deadline, you're looking to have these ready for Friday, when we look at step five...

NANOPLANNING: PART THREE

     Today, we take a break from that little paragraph we wrote, and we begin to think about characters and backstory. Often, writers have much more "material" about a character than what ever shows up in their novel. Fleshing out characters helps them understand exactly what a character would or would not do in any given situation. In fact, once the characters are fully developed, THEY may begin "telling" the writer what to do. Minor characters may take over and become THE major characters if they become interesting enough.
    
     Imagine keeping a file on or interviewing your character--you'll know what they look like, of course, and their name, but you'll need to dig deeper too. Find out all the pertinent facts. Does being the eldest or youngest in the family affect them? Do they have a nuclear family? A dysfunctional one? Do they come from the richest of neighbourhoods or are they dirt poor?

     Here's an example of a "character profile" template found online that can help you get to know your characters more.  You can find more by Googling those words in quotation marks too. Fill one out for AT LEAST your main protagonist and main antagonist:

http://www.suspense.net/profile.htm

INNER CIRCLE:

I'm giving you handouts to complete this step with, but of course you can add sections that you think will be more useful to your characters. What I give you is just enough to get you going...

NANO PLANNING PART TWO

So you have your single sentence to describe your novel? (See, Tiam? I started a sentence with "So...")

Part two involves E X P A N D I N G that sentence into a small paragraph (which will end up sounding a bit like a back cover blurb):

Sentence #1 Story setup / backdrop

Sentence #2 Conflict / disaster #1

Sentence #3 Conflict / disaster #2

Sentence #4 Conflict / disaster #3

Sentence #5 A HINT of the ending or resolution--don't give anything away...

Keep in mind that this is a GUIDELINE, and I won't be counting sentences, or anything like that. Just be sure to have the five parts covered:

Blake Mack is a thief who, while fleeing police, veers off onto a logging road and slams into a cyclist, whose identity he assumes. he enjoys his new start at first, but then a young hotshot police officer with something to prove starts making his life more difficult. To make matters worse, he discovers a shocking secret about the true identity of the man he has become. when a new love interest betrays him, he has no one to turn to. He's on the run--from the law, from "The Company," and from a broken relationship; his only way out may be to start all over again...will he get the chance?