Finishing Your Novel - The Rewrite Blog Six

By: Jason Henry Evans

Since January we’ve been discussing the bare bone basics of how to write a book of

historical fiction. June is the sixth month we’ve been doing this fiction stuff – and it will be our last. After June, we’re going to transition into other topics, like how to self-publish and finding an agent. We’ll also talk about online marketing and email lists and appearances. So this will be our last blog about actual writing.

In May I gave you a list of five things you should do once your W.I.P. (Work In Progress,) is finished. The last three items on that list were as follows:

3.) Join a critique group.

4.) Get a good book on grammar.

5.) Print out and read your book.

All three of these activities are essential to meaningful re-writes.

• A critique group will help you see you’re writing from your readers’ eyes. Things that look awesome to you, will read confused and disorganized to them. In addition, things you think are pedestrian in your writing will instill hope and inspiration to others. Some people might weep. (I’ve seen it happen.) Please join a critique group and take their criticisms to heart. Remember, author Jeff Goins says art needs and audience.

• Get a book on grammar. English has more than 100,000 words in it. Its origins are wacky. Essentially Viking settlers in Britain couldn’t be bothered to learn the language of the Angles properly. You throw in some Roman invasions, one from the Normans, expansion and cultural appropriation from around the globe, and you get a language that beats up other languages and steals their grammar.

• So, again, Get a book on grammar. No one expects you to know everything about English. It’s a process. But you can’t start that process without a primer on the basics. A book on grammar can help.

• Finally, print out your book and read it out loud. The sound of actual words will help clean up sentence structure. You can also make notes right in the margin.

Three kinds of Edits

I looked around on the internet and came across multiple definitions for the same terms. So I’ll clarify as I write. You, the writer, before you hire an editor or query to Penguin Books, must do these three kinds of edits yourself.

A Line Edit:

These have to do with that pesky grammar stuff – and it’s hard, at least for me. Although it needs to be done, don’t sit down with a red pen and begin slashing at your manuscript, criticizing every single sentence. You. Will. Go. Mad.

Go to critique group.

Every critique group has a grammar Nazi in it – at least the good ones do. They will let you know about the minutia of grammar. They will tell you things you wouldn’t pick up in a decent book of grammar. As they slash your ten pages, you take notes and learn what rules you keep breaking. When you begin your structure edit, you will notice the bad grammar habits you’ve picked up. Note and correct them there. Then, and only then, do you do a read through looking only for grammar mistakes.

A Structure Edit:

For me, structure edits are about asking certain questions of my work and figuring out how to make them better. So, as you read through your W.I.P. (after taking at least two weeks off without looking at it,) ask yourself these critical questions.

1. Is the protagonist’s motivation painfully obvious?
2. Is the protagonist likeable? Do you want them to be?
3. Do you have a theme? If so, is the theme obvious to your readers?
4. Does your protagonist have a story arc? Is it clear and obvious?
5. 5 Do any of your supporting characters have a story arc? Are their arcs clear and obvious?
6. Is your protagonist the cause of at least some of his own troubles? If not, why? If so, can he fix them?
7. At the midpoint of the W.I.P., is the protagonist able to reflect upon his or her decisions?
8. Is there a whiff of death in the second half of Act 2?
9. Is there at least a partially satisfying conclusion for your reader? Do the good guys win? If not, is there something satisfying for your reader to grab ahold of at the end of your W.I.P.?

When you come to the realization that you need to re-write some scenes – or add new scenes, please, please, please, open of a new file and keep those scenes there! Keep them separate from your W.I.P. Don’t go deleting stuff willy-nilly all over your book. Do your re-writes and slowly integrate them into brand new copies.

I’ll give you an example.

When I was finished with The Gallowglass, a novel about English soldiers fighting in the Irish Nine Years War, I realized I needed a love story. So I organized one, outlining the scenes I would use. Now, I use MS Word, so I created a separate file folder within my book file folder and called it “Gallowglass Romance.” I made individual word files for every extra scene. You, however, don’t have to do that. You can string them along in one .doc, if you so choose, depending on the length of your scenes.

I added an intro for the extra character. An argument scene. I added a dinner alone together scene. All in all, I wrote 11 extra scenes for my romantic subplot and kept them separate. Then, I went back and added them to appropriate chapters. But I also have that separate romance file – just in case I need to move them again.

An Historic Accuracy Edit:

Do you remember back in April when I said don’t worry about the minutia of the historical accuracy stuff when writing your draft? Just add brackets with [Do specific research later]?

Well, it’s time to worry about that stuff.

This will be the hardest part. You’ll have to research where historical characters physically were. The slang they used, the clothing they wore, even the medicine they had access to.

Start with the big stuff first. If your novel is about a famous historical figure, I really hope you created an outline of the figure’s whereabouts before you wrote your book. If you didn’t, you’ll have to do some major re-writes.

Are your characters in the middle of a major historical event, like the Battle of the Bulge, or the coronation of Kaiser Willhelm I? Then you’ll need maps, pictures (if available,) and probably a spreadsheet of historical characters your protagonist will interact with.

If your story takes place in one of those forgotten spaces in history, you will still need to learn about eating habits, sexual norms, fashions, and etiquette. These are the details that will make your manuscript glow. These are also the points that will trip your story up to readers and agents if you get them wrong. The great news is that the internet has access to all of this information.

The bad news is that the internet is the Wild West, and you’ll have to use your judgment. 

Back in November of 2015 I realized that my W.I.P., The Gallowglass, was awful. Just plain bad. So I made the decision to do a re-write from page one. I literally could not use anything from the first draft, it was so bad.

As I sat there, heartbroken around Thanksgiving about all the work I was about to do, I realized something. As hard as I thought it was going to be, I knew I had a story in me. I knew it was a good story, a story people would want to read. I also knew there was no real physical work to do. I wasn’t shoveling horse manure in the hot Missouri summer sun. Re-writing this story, my story, wasn’t going to be that hard. I could do this.

So I did. It took three months, off and on, to finish my second draft. I did it, and so can you.

If you want to have a deeper discussion about the process of re-writing, click on this link to my website: http://www.jasonhenryevans.com/2017/06/lets-start-re-writes/

Go on Facebook and like my Author Page.

Follow me on Twitter @evans_writer 

About the Author:  Jason Evans always wanted to be a writer, he just didn't know it. He grew up in Pasadena, California, in the 1980s where he watched way too much television, but was introduced to literature by his grandfather and his favorite middle school and high school teachers. He wasted his youth working at the So Cal Renaissance Faire (a dangerous place because it’s the gateway drug to other historical costumes,). In his leisure time he’s an educator, a writer, and a bon vivant. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara, with degrees in History & Renaissance Studies, a teaching credentials from CSU Los Angeles, as well as a graduate degree from the University of Colorado, Denver. He currently resides in Denver with his wife, the fetching Mrs. Evans, their three dogs and a mischievous cat who calls him his thrall. 

Your To-Do List After the First Draft

By: Jason Evans

Last month we talked about actually writing your book. If you’ve followed my advice month to month you might be disappointed to realize your masterpiece isn’t done by now.

Don’t beat yourself up. It takes some people years to finish their first draft. Give yourself some time and do it the right way. (But not too much time.)

Juggling plots, character motivations, settings, and themes is a difficult process for even experienced writers. The best way to complete that book of yours is to write a little every day. Start with a page, then try to write two pages. Write six days in a row. Follow that up with a word count goal to make every day. Make writing a habit. Eventually you will have a completed draft. When that day happens, believe me, you’ll be relieved and happy. Of course, you’ll then ask yourself a question.

Now what?

That what today’s blog is all about. What should you do next?

Now even though this is the historical fiction blog on Pikes Peak Writers, please know that the following suggestions apply to all writers of fiction. Sci-fi, Speculative, Romance, etc. Follow these steps once your first draft is complete.

Here are the top five things you should do once your manuscript, or W.I.P. (Work in Progress,) is finished.

1.) Celebrate!

You wrote a dag-blame book! Congratulations. Many people can’t say that. People say they want to write a book all the time. How many even write a line of that book, let alone an entire novel? Not many. How many get 50 pages, or even 25 before quitting? You didn’t. You stuck it out.

Tell everybody you know. Go on social media, tell your in-laws, your kids’ teachers, and the mailman. Bake a cake, or buy some (cheap,) champagne. You deserve to celebrate.

2.) Rest

Now that you’ve written this sure-to-be best seller, walk away from it. I’m serious. Walk Away.

When I was in college, I learned to write a paper well before the deadline, then put it away for a couple of days in order to see it with fresh eyes. Doing this helped me see the faults in my writing. Stuff I thought was pithy or clever turned out to be boorish or just blame awful. A few days gave me some healthy distance so I could give my writing a fair critique. In the end, that distance helped me strengthen structure and clarify arguments. I figured if a paragraph didn’t make sense to me after a few days, it certainly wouldn’t make sense to my professors.  

How long should you take? I would say at least two weeks, but anywhere from a month to six months seems right to me. Now I know many people like to submit pages to conference contests, or query during an agent’s submission period, so maybe six months is too long. I completely understand. Just give yourself some down time away from the keyboard.

3.) Join a Critique Group

Here is where things get scary. I have hermit tendencies at times. I know getting out of the house and wearing pants seems like a lot of effort, but trust me, the effort is worth it.  

Joining a critique group can have several benefits to your writing life. Chiefly, they will read excerpts of your W.I.P., and give you gentle critiques. (Why gentle? I’ll get to that in a moment.) Second, you will develop an eye for good writing, as you will be reading other people’s W.I.P.’s. More importantly, you’ll learn why and how a story can go south, by reading other people’s works. Just the act of reading fiction critically will help you become a better writer. Finally, those critique partners, those people who have seen your worst and your best, will become your writing family. They will mourn, laugh, grouse, and celebrate your writing life. They’ll be your inklings.

4.) Get a good book on Grammar.

A lot of you may not have gone to college. Those who did, probably didn’t major in English. So mastering the grammar monster is something most new writers have to deal with. (I know it is for me.) The relationship between new writers and grammar is akin to a professional football player and pain. Sometimes it will distract you from your job, other times you’ll conquer it. Regardless, you will respect it and have a relationship with it that must be nurtured.

But it’s not just about learning grammar rules. It’s about manipulating the language in different ways, making English stretch and do those things that will wow your readers. It’s learning about meter and rhythm, about word etymology and descriptive verbs. A good book of grammar will help you along this process.

5.) Editing

You’ve celebrated and rested, joined a critique group and bought a good book on grammar.

Now we get serious. Now it’s time to edit your book. Here’s what you do.

Chiefly, buy a BIG binder (or, liberate an oppressed binder from your place of work – theft is such an ugly word). Get ahold of a three ring hole punch (see liberation above). Then print your book out.

Yes. I said print your book out!

You want to print it out for a couple of reasons. You’re gonna want to make notes in the margins –things you’ll get to later. You’ll want to take it outside and read it in the sun. Your eyes will get tired looking at a computer screen all day, so switch to paper.

Finally, there is something tactile and soothing about critiquing your work on paper. There’s nothing to save, or accidently delete. You won’t end up with multiple copies with different edits floating around. Plus, it’ll be pretty cool to walk around with a filled binder of your own writing.

A trick you can do is get one of those multi-colored ball point pens. Use red for grammar, green for character arc or plot points, black for basic edits, and blue for remembering notes for the re-write.

What? Yes, you will be re-writing portions of your book. You didn’t think we’d be done in one draft, did you?

Come back next month as I talk about how and what to re-write in your W.I.P.


About the Author:  Jason Evans always wanted to be a writer, he just didn't know it. He grew up in Pasadena, California, in the 1980s where he watched way too much television, but was introduced to literature by his grandfather and his favorite middle school and high school teachers. He wasted his youth working at the So Cal Renaissance Faire (a dangerous place because it’s the gateway drug to other historical costumes,). In his leisure time he’s an educator, a writer, and a bon vivant. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara, with degrees in History & Renaissance Studies, a teaching credentials from CSU Los Angeles, as well as a graduate degree from the University of Colorado, Denver. He currently resides in Denver with his wife, the fetching Mrs. Evans, their three dogs and a mischievous cat who calls him his thrall. 

Like my author page on Facebook: Jason Henry Evans

Follow me on Twitter: @evans_writer

Visit my new webpage www.jasonhenryevans.com

Writing Your Historical Novel: Blog Four

Editor's Note: Jason Evan's expertise is history, but this article, as in his past articles for Pikes Peak Writers, can be helpful to writers in every genre. Good information for all to consider.

By Jason Evans

Happy Spring! Welcome back!

OK, we’ve talked about fleshing out your ideas. We’ve gone over how to start your research. We have even addressed how to structure your story. This month we’re going to talk about actually writing your story down!

Finally. It’s about time this guy talks about the stuff I wanna know! Why didn’t he do this before?

Why? Because my first WIP was a freakin’ train wreck, that’s why! I did everything wrong. I wanted a Lord of the Rings style adventure, and ended up with Anne of Green Gables with sword fights. I made every mistake. Grammar, point of view, too many compound sentences, etc. I don’t want you to go through that, gentle reader.

Since that awful first manuscript, I have learned that the more prep I do on the front end, the less re-writing I’ll have to do on the back end. So I write a lot about organization, structure and research. The benefit of this approach is so that you don’t have to re-write entire sections of your book. Doing the research beforehand prevents you from making major mistakes when you write.

OK, rant over. Here are some suggestions you might want to do right before you begin writing.

Create a Timeline of Historical Events

In historical fiction, you are usually writing about fictional characters experiencing a real world event, or you’re writing a fiction story about historical characters experiencing a real world event. That event can be a political election, a basketball tournament, the opening of a frontier, or a war. There really isn’t any limitation to what you can write. However, if you mess up the timeline, your book will suffer and people will taunt you.

Example: Let’s say you’re writing a love story about Charles Lindbergh and his wife, Anne. He met Anne in December of 1927, after his famous flight in Mexico City. If you have them meeting again on Valentine’s Day, 1928, say in New Jersey, you’d better make sure he was actually in New Jersey in February! Again, people will criticize you.

Get a Good Book on Grammar

Listen, English is a messed up language. There is no shame in not knowing all the rules. I read an article once indicating English started as an Anglo-Saxon language that Viking settlers spoke poorly (because they didn’t care.) Add some Latin words from the Roman invasion of Britain. Add some more Latin words, along with some French with the Norman invasion, then sprinkle in some Spanish, Italian (ghetto Latin,) Hindi, Arabic & other words, & you’ve got a mess on your hands.

Get a good book of grammar to help you out. If you can, get a good book on fiction writing, too. It will save you time in the end.

Stick to One Point of View

I know Book series like A Song of Ice and Fire, have made multiple points of view stories very popular recently. However, Point of View can be really hard for beginning authors. (I know it was for me.)  My suggestion is to limit the point of view to one character. Let the reader follow that person on a journey. Give your readers a glimpse of what brings that character joy, what makes them happy, or what scares them.

It doesn’t mean you can’t have awesome supporting characters, you just won’t be able to hear their thoughts. One of my favorite characters in A Song of Ice and Fire is Stannis Baratheon and he never gets a point of view chapter.

Find a good craft book on the subject. I suggest Rivet your Readers with Deep Point of View by Jill Elizabeth Nelson. It’s a little booklet with great activities. Its only $5.99 on Amazon.

Accept that Your Writing will have Multiple Drafts

Local Denver area author Stant Litore (who will be attending the Pikes Peak Writers Conference) once told me “Writers write. Professional writers rewrite.” I have found this to be true.

Know that the effort you put out for your first WIP will not be done when you write “The End.”

You’re going to have to rewrite some parts. (Which we will cover in later blogs) You’re going to have to make those fight scenes clearer. You’re going to have to drop more hints earlier in your book so your readers don’t feel cheated when they find out the gardener was the killer.

In my book, The Gallowglass, there is a love triangle between my protagonist, Philip, and a woman trying to get through a war zone to see her dying husband, as well as a camp follower who sees my protagonist as a meal ticket. (Philip doesn’t see it, though.) The camp follower is named Colleen.

The first time you meet Colleen, she is seducing Philip in his army tent. Fionualla, (She’s Irish) stumbles upon the two as they’re disrobing.

After writing 104,000 words I realized as I was reading it, that Colleen was not sympathetic at all. She was a stereotype: The voluptuous Bad Girl, the Temptress. I didn’t want that, so I added a couple of scenes showing Philip’s sincere affection for Colleen and her potential to be an ingénue. Those scenes were a big part of my rewrite.

Perhaps you want to add a subplot, or give the villain more face time. It is in the rewriting where the richness and fullness of your book comes through. So don’t be afraid to write more.

Rewriting is part of the process. Think of it like this.

Draft One: The Dream Draft. Here you can experiment with any plots and subplots you want. Be as experimental as you want!

Draft Two: Plot, Arc, Structure, & Conflict. After you’ve written and read your WIP, go back and tighten those elements of your story that strengthen the plot, the character arcs, the structure and the conflict of your story. Things have to be clear and concise.

Draft Three: The History Draft. All that awesome historical research you did? The information on shoe colors and blouse construction. The stuff on horses and metallurgy, put it in now. If your characters went to an historical building, one you don’t know much about, put those descriptions in here.

Why?

I once wasted two days researching Renaissance Irish Women’s headgear. Yes. I admit that. Don’t be me. Put all your historical research in, the big, the small, in Draft three.

Draft Four: The Polished Draft. This is where you make the final changes, check grammar, and go over the sticky points in your characters arcs.

Congrats, You’re Done!

I sincerely hope this has been helpful. I know it’s a lot to do and think about. But, if you do the work, then you’ll be able to sit down in front of your favorite writing program and not worry about everything else. You won’t get sidetracked and you won’t go down a rabbit hole. You will be able to sit down and write your story with a clear conscience.

If it seems daunting, or overwhelming, remember what Chris Baty, founder of NaNoWriMo said, “The World Needs Your Novel.”

If you find writing itself a struggle, if the motivation to write hamstrings your goal of writing a book, then check out my blog on my website. I’ve got some pretty good suggestions for you there. http://www.jasonhenryevans.com/category/writing-historical-fiction/

Next month we’ll talk about how to use all that awesome research you’ve acquired and why you need beta-readers.

Enjoy your Spring and Happy Easter!

Read more about Jason’s writing life at http://www.jasonhenryevans.com/category/writing-historical-fiction/

Follow him on Twitter @evans_writer

Or, like his Facebook Author Page at Jason Henry Evans

About the Author:  Jason Evans always wanted to be a writer, he just didn't know it. He grew up in Pasadena, California, in the 1980s where he watched way too much television, but was introduced to literature by his grandfather and his favorite middle school and high school teachers. He wasted his youth working at the So Cal Renaissance Faire (a dangerous place because it’s the gateway drug to other historical costumes,). In his leisure time he’s an educator, a writer, and a bon vivant. He is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara, with degrees in History & Renaissance Studies, a teaching credentials from CSU Los Angeles, as well as a graduate degree from the University of Colorado, Denver. He currently resides in Denver with his wife, the fetching Mrs. Evans, their three dogs and a mischievous cat who calls him his thrall. 

Resist the Urge to Explain: Another Take

By: Terry Odell

A while back, JT Evans contributed a post about the acronym R.U.E., or “Resist the Urge to Explain,” giving it a definition I’d never heard before. I thought I’d share my take on the subject with a more traditional explanation.

As authors, we want to make sure our reader’s “get it,” so we tend to go overboard with information, explaining far too much.

Here’s an example: "Mary laughed so hard, she was afraid she'd pulled a stomach muscle. Susie had just told the funniest joke Mary had ever heard."  The second sentence isn't needed; it's explaining something the reader would be able to figure out in context.

Another pitfall—telling something, then going on to show it. Let's say you're beginning to understand the "show don't tell" advice everyone gives you, and you do put the action on the page. For the sake of example, a simplistic passage might be written as follows:

After Bill cancelled their date, claiming his aunt was sick, Mary was depressed. She took one bite of chocolate cake, then pushed the plate away.

The second sentence shows what the first tells. If you find this in your writing, use your delete key on that first sentence. A better approach:

Mary had been looking forward to her date with Bill for weeks, but he'd cancelled, giving some excuse about a sick aunt. She moved the chocolate cake around the plate with her fork, then pushed it away.

The reader gets the information, and can see that Mary's depressed without having to be told. You can use the same to show other emotions. Maybe Mary was angry, not depressed, after Bill cancelled. Maybe she throws the whole cake against the wall.

What about this?

Mary's feet felt like lead. She couldn't run fast enough to escape the man chasing behind her.

Cut the first sentence. You don't need both. What about:  Mary ran, but her feet refused to move fast enough to escape the man chasing her. Or, Mary's feet moved as though encased in lead shoes.

Sometimes, we tell the reader too much.

Mary twirled up two strands of spaghetti and waited for the excess sauce to drip onto her plate. Leaning forward, she manipulated the fork into her mouth, then wiped her mouth with her napkin. She was a very careful eater because she hated getting stains on her clothes.

Don't insult your reader with the last sentence. No need to explain. We can see for ourselves Mary is a meticulous eater.

Another common place writers need to Resist the Urge to Explain is in dialogue. Too often, we tack on tags or beats that tell the reader what the dialogue has already shown. Are you adding adverbs to your dialogue tags?

"I'm sorry," Tom said apologetically.

Those adverbs are usually signals that you're telling something the dialogue should be showing. They're propping up your dialogue, and if it needs propping, it wasn't strong enough to begin with. All that 'scaffolding' merely calls attention to the weak structure beneath.

Will your reader notice these differences? Probably not, but they might not enjoy the read even if they can't explain why. However, agents and editors are tuned into them, and if you're submitting, you don't want to send up any red flags.

Check your manuscript for 'emotion' words, especially if they're preceded by "was" or include "felt." Are you describing your character's feelings? Don't tell us how your character feels. Show us.

Check your dialogue tags and beats. Are they consistent with the words being spoken? If so, you don't need them. If not, your readers will be confused, trying to reconcile dialogue with the action.

Readers are smart. Don't patronize them by 'talking down' to them.

About the Author:  Terry Odell always wanted to "fix" stories she read so the characters did what she wanted. Once she began writing, she found this wasn't always possible, as the mystery she intended to write became a romance—a real surprise, since she'd never read a romance. Terry writes mystery and romantic suspense, but calls them all "Mysteries With Relationships." Her 20+ published works include the Blackthorne, Inc. covert ops series, the Pine Hills Police series, the Triple-D Ranch series, and the Mapleton Mystery series. Her awards include the Silver Falchion and HOLT Medallion, among others.

Lessons from an Abecedarian

By: Bowen Gillings

I am a new writer. Nothing published. No awards. Just expanding Scrivener files. 

Novice that I am, I have gleaned a few nuggets from the sluice trough of experience that might help other rookies. I believe in the strength of these ideas the way my four-year-old believes fairies populate our backyard.

Understand advice is like bacteria—everybody has some, and, like it or not, they’ll share it.  Feel free to turn away if I appear to cough on you over the next few hundred words.

Write.  Seems obvious. But how often does writing get set aside until after your to-do list is done? I used to think I needed to get other stuff out of the way so that I would have time to write. Nonsense. Write first. Housekeeping can wait. Mowing the lawn can wait. Oiling the cajón can wait…until after you write.

Write your best.  Obvious too? I mean to write the best possible options into your story. My protagonist could find out who’s clear-cutting the forest by asking around town. Or he could track down the foresters just as they are being attacked by an armed group of environmentalists. Both further the plot, but the second option will likely hold more interest for the reader.

Write now. Editing is part of writing, but it is a separate part. Editing does not further your story. Editing only improves the telling of it. I was a chronic editor, bogged down in my writing by mental dickering over a word or metaphor. It’s not a good thing, not in the first draft. Now, if I’m stuck on a word or phrase, I highlight it for later review so that the story begging to be released from my hops-muddled brain can continue to flow.

Set a timer. Unless you find yourself with nothing else pressing (which means you’re dead) set a specific amount of time to write. I typically give myself an hour. Knowing the alarm is going to go off makes me write faster and cleaner.

Show off.  Put your writing in front of other people. Nothing improves my work more than getting feedback from folks who give of their time and taste to tell me what to chuck, what to tweak, and what pissed them off because it was so well written. This last bit hasn’t actually happened, but it’s good to have a goal.

Know you’re dumb. Raise your right hand and repeat after me: “I (state your name) know doodley-toot about the true craft and business of being an author.”  Writing requires an idea and a laptop (or a notebook if you’re old school). To be a successful author takes so very much more. There are books, magazines, and websites on writing (I’ve read two of them). Join a writer’s group. Join a critique group. Attend workshops. Go to writing conferences.  Join Pikes Peak Writers and attend Write Brain, Writer’s Night, and Open Critique each month. I did and looks how goods I write!

Don’t fall in love. You’re proud of a scene that really shines. When your critique group reads it, they are confused by character motivation and how the scene fits into the narrative. If readers consistently tell you something doesn’t work, change it. Don’t defend your work based solely on how much effort it took to create.

Write your way. I am not George R.R. Martin, Joe Abercrombie, or Susanna Clarke. I love their work, but they are not I.  They are not me? Whatever. The point is: avoid comparing your writing to other writers in a way that drags you down. Good authors tell stories in their own voice. You are a good author. Accept that your story must be told your way. Then tell it.

There. A few hundred infectious words of amateur advice sprayed across your brain like a sneeze from the guy behind you at the theater. Now wash your hands. You don’t know where I’ve been.

About the Author: Bowen Gillings lives in Colorado Springs with his wife, daughter, and dog.  When not writing, he can be found at Garden of the Gods Park where he heads the school programs for area elementary and high school students.  He is enjoying the rollercoaster of writing his first novel.  He became a member of Pikes Peak Writers in 2015. At the 2016 Pikes Peak Writers Conference, an agent asked for a complete manuscript based on his first sixteen lines. With only two chapters complete, he was able to negotiate submitting the manuscript before the 2017 Conference. Yes, it's good to have goals!

July Letter from the Editor

When I noticed my letter from the editor fell on the fourth, the word that immediately came to mind was fireworks. The second word that occurred to me was independence. Finally, after working on the blog’s Quote of the Week by Dean R. Koontz, and choosing his quote, “Never Scope to the Market,” I knew the focus of my July letter.

When writing, we should be fearlessly independent, the enjoyment we get should be akin to goosebumps or fireworks, and unless paid to do so, we should never, ever write to the market.

For good reason.

I came from a nonfiction background. As an editor for a weekly newspaper I was always looking for breaking stories or something no other paper would have. It was a big deal to scoop another medium—especially the local daily.

So imagine my disappointment when I got into fiction, began attending conferences and learned that the mindset of editors and agents was completely the opposite. I remember quite well walking into a crowded room, notebook and pen ready, to listen to a big time editor.  I was prepared to hang on her every word until she said, “We’re looking for this. This genre is hot right now. We’ll consider anything that includes this or this.”

It astounded me that all around me authors and aspiring authors were scribbling furiously. While me, I stopped taking notes. Mainly because I didn’t write the genre she was referring to, nor did I enjoy it.  And if I didn’t love writing that kind of book, I knew it would show in the writing.

In my opinion, three things might have occurred as a result of that editor’s session. 1) The author might have tried, found he wasn’t invested in the work and given up; 2) He might have followed through, completed the story, only to be soundly rejected; or 3) He might have been one of few who squeezed through that remarkably tight publishing door.

Why? Because, thanks to that editor and those globbing on to the next best thing, the publishing industry creates a glut for these kinds of stories. 

The articles we bring you on Writing from the Peak are geared toward bringing out your best as a writer. We want you to succeed, not at another’s whim, but at something you deeply love. 


This month we have articles that, ideally, will inspire you to do just that. Deb McLeod, the Writing Coach is back, Natalia Brothers has a fantastic article called “40 Minutes to Reach the Bridge,” J.T. Evans will talk about something uniquely geared toward originality, “Improv and Story Ideas, and Darby Karchut addresses, By Any Other Name – that often difficult task of naming our characters.

It's hard enough to create a story that matches the one we have in our heads, let alone to write to somebody else's vision. Further when we reach THE END, it should produce fireworks. Think about it; if your writing gives you, the author, the chills, imagine what it will do for the reader. 

Have a marvelous 4th and a productive July.  

About the author: Donnell Ann Bell is the managing editor for Writing from the Peak, the coordinator for the monthly Open Critique held on the first Wednesday of every month, and one of Pikes Peak Writer's board members at large. She is a best selling romantic suspense and mystery author. To learn more about her books, find her at www.donnellannbell.com

Can Meditation Help My Writing?

Editor's Note: I often read self-help books. If it pertains to writing, and I get something out of it, I'll post a review.

By: Donnell Ann Bell 

Hello, my name is Donnell, and I’m an information junkie. Doesn’t matter, newspapers, televisions, Yahoo, Google, if a headline captures my attention, I read it.

Originally, I told myself that this was good for me, because as a writer I want to be well-informed.

But what happens when all this information overloads the senses and kidnaps your muse? That’s basically what has happened to me during this crazy political cycle and okay, long before. I told myself I could quit at any time. Didn’t happen.

I’ve always been a daydreamer, but recently I just stopped. Suddenly I realized that all I had was an abundance of chatter filling my head.

All I knew was that for a fiction writer chatter is the most useless, nay, dangerous thing ever, and I no longer wanted all this sometimes valid, oftentimes insipid information coming at me at the speed of sound. I wanted my muse back, and to get it, I was desperate enough to pay the ransom.

One evening while I was reading my Kindle, Amazon popped up with an ad. It was a headline (or title), and my ADHD-deficit addled brain latched onto it like a man-eating tree before I could save myself and step away. But this time… this time… before I filed it in the mindless chatter part of my brain, I was fully engaged. Want to know why?

How’s this for a title? 10% Happier How I tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge and Found Self-Help That Actually Works. That was me to a tee and I had to know more. So I bit back and clicked on. And there was the bio of the author. Dan Harris of ABC News. I figured that if Harris, who by far had to surpass me as an information junkie in ways I could never comprehend, found a way to tame the voices, this was a book I should read.

I often wondered where he was going with this thoughts. In truth it reads like a memoir. But it’s a darned good memoir, and one of those books that keep you turning pages. (Also, I felt I had a good vocabulary. Harris has an amazing vocabulary — so if you read it for any other reason, read it for that.) But back to his book: Given that Harris is a public figure/celebrity, I learned fame can be an addiction in itself. Add drugs to it, can you imagine what a mess this guy was?

His journey of transformation is epic, and as a romantic suspense writer, I crave a happily ever after. The long title wasn’t the only thing that whetted my appetite. He talks about the value of meditation to silence not only the chatter, but the negative, often paranoid thinking, that enters our brains. And while I read this part skeptically, he seems to have succeeded.

Harris suggests that readers start meditating five minutes a day, and provides some interesting tools to do it. That’s why I’m going to give it a shot. But sorry Mr. Harris, while I’ve become a fan, I have to turn off the TV—that news junkie thing again.

Am I alone? In this day of 24/7 news and the barrage of social media popping up to swallow us whole, do you need to tame the voices in your head? I recommend this book as a tool if you do.

About the author: Donnell Ann Bell is the managing editor for Writing from the Peak, the coordinator for the monthly Open Critique held on the first Wednesday of every month, and one of Pikes Peak Writer's board members at large. She is a best selling romantic suspense and mystery author. To learn more about her books, find her at www.donnellannbell.com