Writability: write

Showing posts with label write. Show all posts

Vlog: You Asked, I Answered 4!

You asked, I answered! Today I'm talking about themes, the future, software, writers groups and more!

RELATED VLOGS:

Vlog: My Writing Routine

Many of you asked about my writing routine! So today I'm sharing everything from where I write, to my word count goals and more. What's your writing routine like?

RELATED VLOGS:

Twitter-sized bite:

What's your writing routine like? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) shares their general go-to writing preferences, from location, to word count goals, to programs and more. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: On Writing & Burnout

In which I get real about burn out and trying to write through it.

RELATED VLOG:

Writing When You Don't Want To

Twitter-sized bite:

Gabe (@Ava_Jae) gets honest about writing and the realities of burn out. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: When You Get Stuck in the Middle of Your WIP

You asked, I answered! Today I'm talking about what to do if you get stuck in the middle of your WIP...and you don't like to plot.

RELATED LINKS:

Twitter-sized bite:

What do you do if you get stuck in the middle of your WIP and you don't like to plot? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) shares one strategy to get out of a rut. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: About Showing vs Telling

You asked, I answered! Today I'm talking about the common advice "show don't tell" and whether that *really* means you should absolutely never tell. (Spoiler: it doesn't.)

RELATED VLOGS:

Twitter-sized bite:

Does "show don't tell" *really* mean you can never tell? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) breaks down what this common advice means about telling in your writing. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: My Debut's Publication Timeline

You asked, I answered! Today I'm talking about how long it took from BEYOND THE RED's first draft to publication—and what you can expect, if anything, in terms of a publication timeline.

RELATED VLOGS:

Twitter-sized bite:

How long does publishing take? Gabe (@Ava_Jae) talks the timeline for their debut & what you can expect, if anything, in terms of a publication timeline. (Click to tweet)

Judging by the various critiques I've done over the years, point of view, it seems, trips a lot of writers up. It's easy enough to understand why—when you come up with a great cast of characters, it can be tempting to think the more perspectives in the story, the more readers will connect with characters—and therefore, the story. Furthermore, exploring different character perspectives can be a great way to get to know the characters, which then makes it much easier to write them as fully realized people in your novel.

Only problem is too many POVs in a novel can make a story confusing, unfocused, and leave writers connecting with no one at all. But how many perspectives are too many?

The truth is, there isn't a magic number, because it's going to vary novel-to-novel. But the key to figuring it out is answering this question:

Whose story is this novel?

This requires paring down to the core of your story. It means thinking about what the story is really about and who the story is really about. Usually the answer will be one, maybe two characters, but sometimes the answer will be a little bigger than that. That's fine, the key is to just be honest with yourself when you answer the question.

Remember, when it comes to novel-writing, readers rarely need the perspectives of various periphery characters in order to understand the story. Sometimes—I'd wager many times—a minimal approach really works best.

How do you determine who your novel is really about?

Twitter-sized bite:

How many POVs are too many? And how can you tell? @Ava_Jae breaks down this common WIP problem. (Click to tweet)

On Compartmentalizing

Photo credit: Alex Abian on Flickr

Like many writers, I juggle a lot of things at once.

Right now I have grad school. A part-time job. Freelance editing. And I'm an author with an active social media presence.

This month, alongside my regular responsibilities (the part time job, freelancing, social media things, everyday life stuff, etc.) I also had my third book due to my editor, as well as two essays. I tackled the book three revisions by doing what I know my brain does best: binge editing, in which I literally dedicated an entire day to revisions until it was done. That worked really well and allowed me to get that major responsibility out of the way so I could then focus on...everything else.

I won't pretend it's perfect—the stress has literally made my chronic illness flare up multiple times this month. But as I'm nearing the light at the end of the tunnel I'm feeling as though it might just be possible to do everything I need. Hopefully.

I still have all the other things due. But I've been realizing, as of late, the way I have to handle things is one at a time. I feel a little lighter knowing I got one major deadline down, and now I'm tackling the rest with new energy. And I'm thinking that maybe I should handle the some of my responsibilities the same way.

I compartmentalize a lot, but as I'm often juggling A Lot, I've found that it's really how my brain works best. If I can focus on one aspect at a time, and ignore the others while I'm getting one thing done, then I don't get overwhelmed with the mountain of things I need to tackle. And with each completed compartment, I feel even more prepared to handle the next.

This isn't going to work for everyone, obviously. But it's how I've been handling what is essentially four jobs, this semester, and I think I'm going to implement it even more as I go on. Because figuring out what strategies work best for your brain can go a long way toward not dropping all the balls at once.

Do you compartmentalize?

Twitter-sized bite:

How do you juggle multiple, major responsibilities while still meeting your deadlines? @Ava_Jae shares their experience. (Click to tweet)

Resources for Revision

I'm currently in the middle of revisions for both The Rising Gold and my #ownvoices project, so to say I have revision on the brain is an understatement. I use a couple programs to keep me on target and keep track of my progress, including:

Scrivener. I do all my first drafting and a big chunk of my revisions—any revisions before I send my project to my agent and/or editor, basically—in Scrivener. I like how I can visually track what I've added with different colors, so I can watch the unfolding development just through the colors in my manuscript. Plus Scrivener makes big picture edits—edits that involve moving scenes around or deleting them entirely—a lot easier because you can edit through the cork board.

myWriteClub. I still use myWriteClub to track my revisions! I enjoy having progress bars so I can see how much I've done, and it helps particularly on those days when I feel like I've worked hard but made little (or not enough) progress.

Tide. This is a new app I've added to my arsenal thanks to Katie Locke! This app basically has a timer and focus mode, where you work while the timer is going and then take a break when the time is up. If I'm having trouble focusing, it sometimes helps me shut out the distraction of my phone and focus on my work in snippets. Unrelatedly, I've started using the sleep mode too that has calming sounds to lull you to sleep then wakes you up with birds singing, which is kinda nice.

What programs do you use to revise?

Twitter-sized bites:

What programs do you use to revise? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: 4 Common Clichés to Avoid in Your Writing

What clichés should you avoid in your writing? Glad you asked! Here are four very common ones you should consider working around.

RELATED VLOGS:

Have you ever used these clichés in your writing or seen them (successful or not) in books, TV, or movies?

Twitter-sized bite:

What clichés should you avoid in your writing? @Ava_Jae covers 4 common ones in their latest vlog. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: The Best Decision I Ever Made as an Unpublished Writer

I often get asked about writing advice, so today I'm sharing the best bit of writing advice I have. And it's probably not what you think.

RELATED VLOGS:

What do you think?

Twitter-sized bite:

Author @Ava_Jae shares their best writing advice—and it's probably not what you think. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: About Your Rights When You Traditionally Publish

In which I respond to the many writers I've had tell me they're afraid of traditional publishers changing their book to something they don't want.

RELATED VLOGS:

Twitter-sized bite:

Do you lose creative control when you traditionally publish? @Ava_Jae breaks down this myth & talks your rights. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: Writing Doesn't Get Easier

In which I talk about revising my 17th manuscript and how some things in writing never really change.

RELATED VLOGS:

What do you think?

Twitter-sized bite:

Author @Ava_Jae vlogs about revising their 17th WIP & how writing doesn't really get easier. (Click to tweet)

On Over-Ambition and Rebalancing

Photo credit: Mike Gabelmann

I'm an ambitious person. Always have been, for as long as I can remember.

I was the kid in class who always had to get As. Who wrote novels in math class (and still aced math tests), who took AP classes and was only satisfied with a 4 or 5 score on the test at the end of the year, who wanted, more than anything, to get published again, and again, and again.

So I guess it's not surprising I'm also the person who, in August, thought, yeah, I can do grad school, launch a book, and do thirty hours of part time work at the same time. It'll be fine.

Spoiler: it has not been fine.

As of this blog post, I'm nearly a month behind on Book 3 revisions. I've had to, on multiple occasions, not finish my readings for class. For the first time ever I had to e-mail a professor and ask for an extension on a paper. I have publishing deadlines this week I'll be diving into as soon as I finish this post. In short: October has been a tough month.

October was also the month I realized what I was doing wasn't sustainable and took action to lighten the load for me this month by cutting back on my part time hours. And though it was touch and go for a while, it does look like things will be fine after I get through another weekend plus week of overwork. All because I got a little (well, a lot) overly ambitious.

Ambition is great—it encourages you to dream big and push yourself to get there—but it can be a flaw if you're also a workaholic, like me. I learned that the hard way over the last two months, and it's a lesson I'm pretty sure I'll never forget. And while I'm feeling a little better knowing the light is at the end of the tunnel and soon I'll be able to breathe, I will fully admit it's been A Lot.

But I like to be honest about that, because sometimes you can give the impression online that you're a superhuman doing All The Things and everything is fine, fine, fine, and I don't want to give that impression because I've always found it comforting when authors I follow online say, "Yeah, this is hard."

So yeah, this is hard. But it's good, too. Though I've been overwhelmed, I've been overwhelmed with things I enjoy. And once I get a little better balanced, everything really will be fine.

Just got to push through until then.

Twitter-sized bite:

Author @Ava_Jae gets real about being overambitious and rebalancing. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: Is NaNoWriMo Worth It?

We all know it: NaNoWriMo is not an easy challenge. But is it worth it to participate?

RELATED VLOGS:

Have you participated in NaNoWriMo? Will you this year?

Twitter-sized bite:

Is participating in #NaNoWriMo worth it? @Ava_Jae shares their thoughts and experiences NaNoing. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: How to Handle Foreshadowing

What is foreshadowing and how do you include it in your manuscript? Today I talk about how I handle it in my own work.

RELATED LINKS:

INTO THE BLACK Pre-Order Campaign Info!
4 Places to Find Critique Partners (vlog)
How to Make Writer Friends with Lily Meade (vlog)
4 Mistakes I Made as a New Writer (vlog)
CPs vs Betas (vlog)

How do you handle foreshadowing in your WIPs?

Twitter-sized bite:

Want to add foreshadowing to your WIP but not sure where to start? @Ava_Jae shares some tips. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: How to Keep Track of WIP Timelines

Keeping track of timelines in a project as big as a novel can be confusing, harrowing—and sometimes painful. Today I talk about the lessons I've learned the hard way and how I avoid major timeline mess ups while first drafting.

RELATED VLOGS:

Do you keep track of your timeline while first drafting?

Twitter-sized bite:

How do you keep track of your WIP's timeline? @Ava_Jae vlogs some tips. (Click to tweet)

How to Juggle Multiple Deadlines

Photo credit: The Lowry, Salford on Flickr

Writing deadlines are hard, and writing deadlines when you have more than one, and when writing deadlines aren't the only deadlines you have, and when writing isn't the only thing you do, is even harder.

I've been thinking a lot about that as I juggle my writing with my responsibilities, new and old.

Writing-wise, I currently have three projects I'm tossing around, two with deadlines (one self-imposed, one not), and a third that really wants my attention but has to sit and wait. On top of that are my freelance editing projects, my social media commitments, my part-time job, and grad school. And even before I've started doing all of those things at once—though I will have started by the time this publishes—I've already been thinking a lot about how to prioritize to make sure things get done.

For me, it starts with recognizing hard deadlines vs soft deadlines. Hard deadlines are deadlines I can't move—deadlines in contracts (both writing and freelance) or homework, for example. Hard deadlines I usually get plenty of advance notice on, so when I initially get them I sit down and do some math to figure out how much work I have to do every day in order to finish on time. And then I build in a few extra days, for days when things don't go as planned.

Conversely, soft deadlines are usually self-imposed deadlines. They're goalposts, rather than something someone else is waiting on—or, they're sometimes a hard deadline date with the wiggle room built in. So, if I've committed to finishing a project on the 31st, I'll usually math out so I finish on the 29th, so the 29th is my soft deadline that can be moved if needed, and the 31st is my hard deadline.

Once I've established all I need to do every day for each of my commitments, I prioritize within the day. My to-do list nowadays typically looks like this:

errands
writing/revision work
freelance work
grad school reading/work
social media work

Within my grad school reading, I like it split it up between boring reading and fun reading. The boring reading I try to get out of the way first, and then the fun reading I know I can spread out throughout the day, even up until my bedtime reading. Social media work often gets priority unless I can push it off a day without consequence—but I try not to do that too much because I usually have plenty to do the next day too. Freelance work and writing work I generally prioritize the most, because the later in the day it gets, the less energy I have to do it—but those two categories frequently have the most hard deadlines, so I have to get them done. Then errands of course get prioritized and scheduled by how urgent they are.

By splitting up my tasks into bite-sized pieces and prioritizing them from most important to least, it allows me to get high-priority items done even when I have a lot going on while leaving some flexibility for overflow tasks that I can get done on a catch up day.

It's not a perfect system, but it definitely helps. And it's very necessary, for me at least, to keep track of all I need to do.

Do you prioritize your daily tasks?

Twitter-sized bite:

How do you juggle multiple responsibilities with writing? @Ava_Jae shares a few tips. (Click to tweet)

On College and Authoring

Photo credit: Sole Treadmill on Flickr

I frequently get questions from writers about what degree they should do if they want to be a published author, or what I learned from my schooling so far that helped me get published. And up until very recently, where I've started schooling specifically for writing children's books, the truth was my schooling was a thing I did alongside my writing, not something I did specifically to write.

Of course, my situation was not the same as many. I'd been writing all through high school and was largely self-taught. I devoured books on writing, blog posts from people in the industry, and wrote manuscript after manuscript. By the time I transferred over to my alma mater to get my BA in English, I already had an agent—and just two months into my BA degree I got my debut book deal.

So when people asked me up until recently if I went to school to be an author, it felt disingenuous to say yes. Because the truth was, my education hadn't really done much to make me a writer—I did that on my own.

Now things are a little different, however. Now I'm starting my MFA in Writing for Children, which is very much intended to further push me as a writer and also hopefully open up some doors for job opportunities down the road directly related to children's literature. But my main focus is very much to improve my skills and expand my writerly repertoire.

I do want to emphasize though: I didn't have to go to college to get published. No one does.

When I was first deciding what to do, college-wise, all the while knowing my ultimate goal was to become a published author, a degree became important to me not to help me write, but to help me get a job that'd allow me to support myself while I write. So I could've gotten a degree in just about anything, really, but after dipping my toes in the film world I decided I'd be happiest getting a job analogous to writing and children's books—even if not directly publishing-relating. That was the option I've decided was best for me, but that's not going to be the best option for everyone.

Some writers are also doctors, or analysts, or teachers, or fishers. Some are booksellers, or scientists, or nurses, or event planners. I think the main thing that's important when considering college is keeping your expectations grounded and understanding that making a living as a writer isn't easy and often takes a lot of time. So when considering college, I encourage writers to consider how they'd like to make a living outside of writing and then go from there.

Starting school specifically for writing will be a new experience for me—and one I'm looking forward to. But ultimately, for me, this was another step toward figuring out how to make a living in a way that I'd enjoy—and that requires openness and exploration I'm grateful to have the space for.

What do you think?

Twitter-sized bite:

Do you need to go to college to get published? @Ava_Jae shares their experience getting published while at school. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: On Making Changes Part-Way Through a Draft

So you're part-way through your first draft, and then you realize...your story's headed in the wrong direction. Or you need to make a major change. Or both. But how do you handle this realization when partway through your first draft?

RELATED VLOGS:

Twitter-sized bite:

What do you do if you realize mid-1st draft you've made a big mistake? @Ava_Jae talks handling first draft trip ups. (Click to tweet)