Context and Momentum for a First Draft

Sometimes I find it stressful to read too many "how-to" or advice articles when I'm working on a new project. When I'm just starting to draft, the whole experience seems a little fragile, like if I go the wrong way or think too much it all might collapse into nothing. But so far this week, I've read a couple of great blog posts that helped me with my writing:

1. Darcy Pattison has some great advice this week about thinking about the context when trying to see the world through a young character's eyes, in I Wasn't Alive When...Consider Your Audience. Such a great reminder!

2. Laura Carlson's guest post over at The Bookshelf Muse on Increasing Your Book's Momentum gave me lots to think about. Her point about how readers have become impatient in our world of instant updates makes a lot of sense. She highlights the most important places to build momentum in the story and offers some great tips for finding and fixing places where momentum is slow. Definitely worth checking out!


Do you read about writing strategies and techniques while you're drafting a novel or do you find it distracting?

NaNoWriMo is Coming

I often think of participating in National Novel Writing Month, but with a family to look after and a day job, the thought of writing an entire novel in a month is overwhelming. The quickest I’ve ever written a novel draft is three months.

I tend to be a slow and careful writer, so it's hard for me to "just write" and ignore my perfectionistic tendencies. I love the idea of having a month where one writing project is high priority, with the goal of getting a good chunk of a novel written. I'd also like to see if I can speed up my drafting process and get some of the story out, so my revising work can be even more purposeful, since I'll know more about my characters and where they're going. So, I’m thinking of doing a “mini nano” for myself, where I try to get as much done as I can, without any pressure to finish a novel.

Have you ever done Nanowrimo? Do you have any tips?

What a First Draft Reveals

Writing a first draft really shows up your strengths and weaknesses as a writer. Have you ever noticed how some parts come easily? It shows where your writing is strong. For instance, when I write dialogue, it seems to flow naturally. Later, I probably won't need to do much editing of the dialogue (unless it relates to the plot, of course). I'd say it's one of my writing strengths.

On the other hand, I'm not so good at establishing the setting (among other things). I've been writing so fast, concentrating on bigger things, like the story, that my characters are practically floating in the middle of nowhere. Not always a bad thing, but if your character is in a market and suddenly walks into their bedroom...well you can see how that could cause problems for the reader. My critiquers often point out that I need to add more setting details. Sometimes, they say my settings are too much of the same and need variety.

Have you ever thought about your writing strengths and weaknesses? It's useful sometimes. If you're aware of your weaknesses, you'll have a great starting point for what to tackle when it comes to revision. And it shows where you can do more reading or exercises to develop your writing skill.

WIP update:  In case you're wondering, I'm still plodding along with my first draft, with about two chapters to go. Then I'll have to go back and make sure my characters aren't floating around with no sense of time or place.