After I finished another complete round of revision on MS#1 yesterday, I had an anticlimactic moment. I was ready to crank up the music and do the happy dance until I looked at the bottom left of my Microsoft word doc. (insert the sound of Ta ta ta tan here).
After I did the slash and burn, restricted the novel to two POV’s, and removed redundant areas, I discovered I cut out 20,000 words. My word count is now 48K instead of the minimum 65K for a novel.
First thing I did was text ‘the expert’ for advice. Good advice, but I believe I covered those bases. Googled for advice: extend some scenes, add a subplot, give character another conflict. More good advice. But in my anticlimactic mood, I just wasn’t up to implementing the advice or writing. It was me, not them. I picked up my piles of papers and dumped them on a chair, then went to get a bowl of Rocky Road ice cream and watch “Hot in Cleveland.”
Today I got up ready to hit the MS again but decided to ease into it. For me that’s having cups of coffee at the computer and reading some blogs by other writers and bloggers. And this is what I found right away. It’s a post from Nathan Bransford, author and former literary agent. It’s just what I needed this morning to readjust my perspective.
“… believe it or not, writing and happiness can, in fact, go together. For our Thursday entry in Positivity Week, here are ten ways for a writer to stay positive:
1. Enjoy the present. Writers are dreamers, and dreamers tend to daydream about the future while concocting wildly optimistic scenarios that involve bestsellerdom, riches, and interviews with Ryan Seacrest. In doing so they forget to enjoy the present. I call this the “if only” game. You know how it goes: if only I could find an agent, then I’ll be happy. When you have an agent, then it becomes: if only I could get published,then I’ll be happy. And so on. The only way to stay sane in the business is to enjoy every step as you’re actually experiencing it. Happiness is not around the bend. It’s found in the present. Because writing is pretty great — otherwise why are you doing it?
2. Maintain your integrity. With frustration comes temptation. It’s tempting to try and beat the system, whether that’s by having someone else write your query, lying to the people you work with, or, you know, concocting the occasional fake memoir. This may even work in the short term, but unless you are Satan incarnate (and I hope you’re not) it will steadily chip away at your happiness and confidence, and your heart will shrivel and blacken into something they show kids in health class to scare them away from smoking. Don’t do it.
3. Recognize the forces that are outside of your control. While it’s tempting to think that it’s all your fault if your book doesn’t sell, or your agent’s fault or the industry’s fault or the fault of a public that just doesn’t recognize your genius, a lot of times it’s just luck not going your way. Chance is BIG in this business. Huge. Gambling has nothing on the incredibly delicate and complex calculus that results in a book taking off. Bow before the whims of fate, because chance is more powerful than you and your agent combined.
4. Don’t neglect your friends and family. No book is worth losing a friend, losing a spouse, losing crucial time with your children. Hear me? NO book is worth it. Not one. Not a bestseller, not a passion project, nothing. Friends and family first. THEN writing. Writing is not an excuse to neglect your friends and family. Unless you don’t like them very much.
5. Don’t Quit Your Day Job. Quitting a job you need to pay the bills in order to write a novel is like selling your house and putting the proceeds into a lottery ticket. You don’t have to quit your job to write. There is time in the day. You may have to sacrifice your relaxation time or sleep time or reality television habit, but there is time. You just have to do it.
6. Keep up with publishing industry news. It may seem counterintuitive to follow the news of a business in which layoffs currently constitute the bulk of headlines. But it behooves you to keep yourself informed. You’ll be happier (and more successful) if you know what you’re doing.
7. Reach out to fellow writers. No one knows how hard it is to write other than other people who have tried to do it themselves. Their company is golden. If you’re reading this it means you have an Internet connection. Reach out and touch a writer. And plus, the Internet allows you to reach out to writers without smelling anyone’s coffee breath.
8. Park your jealousy at the door. Writing can turn ordinary people into raving lunatics when they start to believe that another author’s success is undeserved. Do not begrudge other writers their success. They’ve earned it. Even if they suck.
9. Be thankful for what you have. If you have the time to write you’re doing pretty well. There are millions of starving people around the world, and they’re not writing because they’re starving. If you’re writing: you’re doing just fine. Appreciate it.
10. Keep writing. Didn’t find an agent? Keep writing. Book didn’t sell? Keep writing. Book sold? Keep writing. OMG an asteroid is going to crash into Earth and enshroud the planet in ten feet of ash? Keep writing. People will need something to read in the resulting permanent winter.http://blog.nathanbransford.com
As good as these tips are I realize that none of them helped me with my original problem: increasing the word count of my MS and maintaining a consistent story arc. Sometimes the questions don’t get answered and you don’t find what you are seeking. But if something makes you stop and think, take a deep breath, and brings a smile to your face, then it’s worth stumbling upon.
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