Ten things I've learned from completing NaNoWriMo

Yes at 10.30 pm on the 30th of November I did a word count and hit 50,014. Has NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) changed me? Well it has moved my WIP on in some interesting ways I certainly didn't expect.

I enjoyed the challenge and met some really interesting writers and 'writing buddies' I will definitely stay in touch with. I also learned a few things about how to write more productively so here, in no particular order, are my top ten:

1. There is a lot more to NaNoWriMo than just the writing

I was surprised at the range and variety of forums of every kind – and the amount of posts. I didn't have time to make the most of it but there is a wealth of ideas, tips, and writing information that is definitely worth a look.

2.  Google+ is an ideal support community for writers

I joined a small NaNoWriMo circle on Google+ in the first week which grew to 794 by the end of the month. For the first time I have seen how helpful it is to have so many people sharing ideas and worries on a single topic. There are a lot of very interesting writers in the circle, so now I have a new challenge of sorting them into something that will work for me in the future.

3. Writing in 'short bursts' works

One of the many tips I picked up from the forums was to write in short half hour 'bursts' with strictly no interruptions then stop and do something completely different. It sounds obvious but I'd never really tried writing like this and it seems to work for me.

4.  2000 words a day is a good target

Another thing I'd never done was worry about how many (or how few) words I'd actually written on any day. NaNoWriMo changes all that, of course. The actual daily target was 1667 so I found that 2000 words or slightly more meant that I could slowly gain some ground for the days when things weren't going so well.

5. Quantity can inspire creativity

Another NaNoWriMo tip was to just write and not worry at all about the quality, on the basis that you will always review and rewrite. I suppose I had fallen into the trap of trying to make the first draft as polished as I can. The NaNoWriMo way seems to be to just bash it out without reviewing your work until you reach the word count target. I expected that this would result in some dull dialogue but the reverse was the case, as speeding things up makes my speech feel more realistic than pondering over every line,

6. Backups can go horribly wrong

The NaNoWriMo calendar includes special days for backing up your work and I shifted from weekly backups to 48 hourly. The problem was that I made the classic mistake of backing up the wrong version of a chapter and of course didn't spot this until it was way too late, resulting in 3,500 words of retyping. It's never quite the same second time round and I would have rather spent the time on new writing or reviewing. My mistake has also reminded me of the value of backing up to different places and maintaining version control.

7. Telling people you are writing something gets it written

The advice on the NaNoWriMo site was to tell people you were doing it, as an additional incentive to persevere when running out of time (or ideas). I made a point of trying this and found it does work, so the same applies to any writing.

8. There are lots of ways to find extra writing time

One 'casualty' of NaNoWriMo has been the luxury of reading whenever I want to, so I'm glad to have that back again. I allowed myself just one book to read in November but tried to do it at times when I wouldn’t have been able to write. I have also developed a new routine of waking early and aiming to write at least 500 words before breakfast, then being more selective about what I watch on TV and writing instead. I've also not been able to spend much time on my blogs but took the opportunity to have a couple of guest blogs, which went down well and were no work for me.

9. Revision can wait

I was in the habit of revising as soon as I could after writing something, in case I forgot the details or repeated things. Thanks to NaNoWriMo I now realise that it's good to leave writing to 'mature' for a while, as the revision feels more objective.

10. You have to validate on the 30th

This was my first attempt at NaNoWriMo and although I knew the wordcount had to be validated before I could be pronounced a 'winner' I had missed the point that you have to paste the whole 50k ON the 30th as the web site is read only on the 1st of December. Never mind, I feel like a winner!

Re-learning the importance of the short story

I've just finished reading a collection of short stories by Dean Koontz, one of my favourite writers.  It is called Strange Highways and shows his impressive versatility with very different stories.  The best bit for me, however, was at the end, where he has a twelve page note to readers about the craft of short story writing. Koontz says the secret of success is to really enjoy the process of writing – even when a page is on its twenty sixth redraft and still isn't working. He also acknowledges that literary agents don't really encourage short stories, as the limited markets tend not to pay very well.

This got me thinking. All writers have ideas that may one day make it into a full length book but I suspect that most, like me, rarely bother to work them up as a short story. I remembered reading a really good book about how to write short stories years ago – and managed to find it again.  It's called "The way to Write Short Stories" by Michael Baldwin (a quick check on Amazon revealed 14 copies going for as little as £0.01)   As well as writing a dozen novels, Michael has judged international writing competitions and has some great tips for anyone interested in short story writing.  This little book is also packed with examples that highlight the potential to craft a worthwhile short story from just about anything, from notes of overheard conversations to three random objects.  

Ultimately, of course, the way to write a good short story is to just write.  He reminds us that "one word on the page is worth a whole story planned in your head."  Similarly, it helps to resist being too critical of your own work.  One of the attractions for me of the National Novel Writing Month challenge is the freedom to just write without worrying about how good it is.  Revision is another step in the creative process – and to leave the last word to Michael  Baldwin "If you feel entirely contented with your product [writing], you have substantial grounds for alarm."     

eBook Self publishing

Self publishing is a great way for new authors to start building a following and (we hope) to come to the attention of mainstream publishers.  Although I have been writing for years I am still working on my first novel, so have enjoyed the legitimate distraction of understanding how to publish online.

If you are interested in going on a journey of exploration for yourself, a good place to start is Mark Coker's Smashwords Style Guide.  Mark (@markcoker) is the founder of Smashwords and has set out simple step-by-step instructions to create and format an ebook to the demanding standards required for any author who wants to distribute their book via Smashwords to major eBook retailers such as the Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo and Diesel.  Mark regularly updates it - and it is a free download.

If you want to become an Amazon Kindle publisher there is a wealth of guidance on the Amazon site but I recommend a great little eBook by Nadia Lee (@NadiaLee)  How to Format Your Manuscript for Kindle and Nook: 3rd Edition  as it can save you a lot of time.

Cracking the code

It is very important to understand the formatting requirements - and all too easy to unintentionally leave 'invisible' rogue code in your work.  The good news is that the tools which generate eBooks have good error trapping, so read any warnings or alerts carefully and learn from them.

Most of the online publishers have a quality review process before your eBook goes online - but your aim is of course to have met all their requirements before you upload.

Disabling Word "features"

I have experimented with tools such as Scrivener but am happy using Word for my WIP. The main lesson I have learnt is to make sure that Word is properly set up to make it easy to format your writing once it is finished.  This means understanding how to disable 'smart quotes' and NOT putting tabs or spaces at paragraph indents.

I started coding in HTML (when the Internet was first invented) and once taught Microsoft Word to advanced level but still found it took few attempts to get it right.  If you are having problems, just search online (and specify which version of Word you are using.)  It can take a while but is time well spent.

Judge a book by its cover?

Don’t underestimate how tricky it can be to design a great cover for your eBook. As you feed the formatted work into the 'grinder' you will be prompted to link to your cover, so you need to have it ready.  Although I'd like to say that I'm more interested in what's inside, there is no question that the cover makes a huge difference when browsing possible downloads. (See Joel Friedlander's great post about Joanna Penn's approach to developing her book cover)

Novel Publicity

Of course there is no point in self publishing if readers don't know about your book.  I have really enjoyed my recent experience of the Novel Publicity Blog Tour of The King Whisperers and recommend you follow writer an book publicist Emlyn Chand (@emlynchand) for some great advice and tips on how to get it right.


I am very interested in your thoughts, experiences and top tips on self publishing and happy to help, so please comment and feel free to get in touch by email on tonyriches@live.com

A writer’s week on twitter - writing advice and tips

Twitter has a wealth of advice and tips for writers if you know where to look.  A good place to start is #writing where you should soon find Jon Winokur’s @AdviceToWriters with links to great writing quotes, articles and practical information from a wide range of sources at  http://www.advicetowriters.com/  

I usually check out Jon’s tweets (he has over 56,000 followers) as you never know what you’ll find, such as: 40 Twitter Hashtags for Writers

Daily Writing Tips

@writing_tips  is a good source of tips on grammar, spelling, punctuation and all aspects of  freelance writing on  http://www.dailywritingtips.com   Founded by writer Daniel Scocco (@danielscocco ), a small team of experienced writers and editors work hard to maintain standards on all aspects of writing, from book reviews to business copy writing.  As well as grammar and punctuation, a favourite of mine is the ‘word of the day'  which is always worth a look.   

Writer's Digest

Cincinnati based @WritersDigest has been providing advice to writers for over ninety years and is always worth looking out for in the timeline.  If you are quick (deadline is 15^th April) you can enter the 19^th WD self publishing awards (see http://writersdigest.com/selfpublished )

Categories include:

• Mainstream/Literary Fiction
• Genre Fiction
• Nonfiction
• Inspirational (Spiritual, New Age)
• Life Stories (Biographies, Autobiographies, Family Histories, Memoirs)
• Children's/Picture books
• Middle-Grade/Young Adult books
• Reference Books (Directories, Encyclopedias, Guide Books)
• Poetry

Fuel Your Writing

Finally, for something a bit different look out for Christopher Jackson’s Fuel Your Writing (@fuelyourwriting ) 

Fuel Your Writing aims to “fuel” your passion for writing of all types and to make

http://fuelyourwriting.com the inspirational “go to” site for business writers, novelists, short story, advertising, technical writers - the list goes on and on…. 

A writer’s week on twitter – book marketing tips

I started using twitter because I read that it would be useful for book marketing.  It is, of course – and is so much more.  I have had so much great advice, inspiration and met so many wonderful writers and poets that I almost forgot about the book marketing, so this week I’ve been looking out for good tweets and here are a few of the best:

Tony Eldridge’s Marketing Tips for Authors

Tony Eldridge (@tonyeldridge) is a published author and a low cost / no cost book marketing expert with loads of good tips and advice on his blog at http://blog.marketingtipsforauthors.com/  as well as free book marketing videos to help you better market your books using Blogger and Wordpress.  Tony has a great relaxed style as he takes you through it step by step - and you can subscribe for email alerts as new videos become available.

Pump up your book

Dorothy Thompson (@pumpupyourbook) takes a very different approach on http://www.pumpupyourbook.com   Pump Up Your Book is a PR company who will give your book the best online distribution possible with every conceivable way of promoting a book including author interviews, giveaways, excerpts and trailers.  Dorothy aims to concentrate on the millions of people who buy books online every day and has developed a range of meets for authors looking for optimum online presence. 

Working with book bloggers

I am grateful to Kathleen Callista (@callista83) for a tweet about working with book bloggers on The Book Publicity Blog http://bit.ly/f8kbcC which has some useful suggestions for book bloggers that will of course be of interest to any book publicists and authors.
 

Galley Cat

You’ve probably come across GalleyCat before but I am grateful to Florida based Adrian Fusiarski (@Fusiarski) for alerting me to 'Best Book Publicity and Marketing Twitter Feeds' @GalleyCat http://bzz.co.cc/grrx1D

Novel Publicity! 

Finally, no look at book marketing would be complete without mentioning the irrepressible Emlyn Chand (@emlynchand) for all her hard work launching http://www.novelpublicity.com  (@novelpublicity) where you can get advice on DIY PR and services including custom book trailers, blog tours and use of social media.

All I need to do now is get back to writing and finish the book…

A writer’s week on twitter – blogs that inspire

Inspiration is a very personal thing - and for me it can change from one day to the next depending on my mood and how well the writing is flowing. 

I enjoy the random links to blogs you can only really get from twitter, as you never know what you are going to discover. 

Best of all is when you find a blog that really gets you thinking – so here are a few that ‘inspired’ me this week:   

An Original Impulse

Denver based author Cynthia Morris (@originalimpulse) coaches people who want to write and create and says her aim is to help women make their dreams of writing into a reality.  She does also help men though and says writing is her lifelong passion – have a look at her Original Impulse  blog. 

I was inspired by her article ‘Ten ways to improve your writing’, where she says  “Writing, like life, is in the moments, and in the moments are the details. Your story should create a picture in the reader’s mind. Create a world for us and let us live there for awhile. Close your eyes and imagine your story as if it existed in another realm. What are the smells, sounds, tastes of this world? Give them all to us.”

Terri Treasures

Florida based Terri Tiffany (@territiffany1) is on her fifth novel and is happy to be called an inspirational writer.  I enjoy her Terri Treasures blog and really like her honesty about writing and giving advice.

Terri says  “When it comes to my blog, I try to share the mistakes I’ve made along the way and those I learned from. They won’t be the same as yours. You also won’t see me giving out a lot of technical writing advice like plot and structure because I know the books out there can do a much better job than I can. And besides that, I’m still learning.”

The Creative Penn

It was Brisbane based Joanna Penn (@thecreativepenn) who started me off with blogging, as I had never thought of it before last month and now I have four on the go.   If you haven’t already seen it make the time to have a look at her blog The Creative Penn.  

In particular, I was inspired by Joanna’s blog post that gave a break down of the launch process for her latest book Pentecost.  Joanna said in her post  “Blogging takes a whole lot of time but very little setup cost. I also love it and blog as a hobby anyway. Totally worth every moment I spend on it.” 

Finally...

A big thank you to writer and book publicist Emlyn Chand (@emlynchand) who kindly found the time to review this blog and made 23 (!) recommendations on how to improve it.  I have made quite a few (can you tell what they are?) and am still trying to work out how to do the rest J  

A writer's week on twitter - travel writing

This week I’ve been looking at the world of travel writing.  There is definitely something different about visiting somewhere or going on a journey when you know you are going to be writing about it afterwards. 

It must also be true that travel can broaden your mind as a writer.  I know growing up in Africa has given me a very different perspective from people I know who have lived all their lives in Wales.

Wild Junkets

Nellie Huang (@WildJunket) is a freelance travel writer and adventure-seeker who describes herself as a ‘modern day nomad.”  Nellie’s blog Wild Junket has the subtitle ‘A rollercoaster ride of wild adventures around the world’ and is a great place to start if you want to see some great travel writing.  Nellie has also brought together one of the best pages of travel links you will find anywhere  - definitely worth exploring!

Quirky Traveller

Cumbria based Zoë Dawes (@quirkytraveller) offers something a bit different in her blog The Quirky Traveller.  I should declare an interest, I suppose, in that Cumbria is one of my favourite places in the world (see the English Lakes blog linked to from Zoë’s site)    Zoë  says “Quirky is about seeing life from a different angle, looking at things from all sides, finding the unusual, the interesting, the fascinating. It’s about quality combined with reality, it’s about being curious about everything and wanting to know more.”

Conn Voyage

Finally I'd like to introduce one of the nicest, most modest people I have met on twitter, Honk Kong based Connie Hum (@conniehum).  

Connie’s understated blog Connvoyage has a refreshing honesty - I’ll leave it to Connie to explain:

Traveling with only my wits, backpack, ukulele and TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) certification, I will engage in a variety of environmental and humanitarian projects and through Connvoyage, share with you the places I will see and live, the things I will discover and learn, the people I will encounter and befriend.

I want you to experience it with me! On this amazing voyage, I invite you, friends and family, avid travelers, adventure seekers, and other sufferers of wanderlust to be my CONNvoy around the world, to lend me support, offer me guidance and join me in whatever capacity you can as I navigate through the wonders of this beautiful place called Earth.

A writer’s week on twitter – writer’s resources

This week I have been looking at the wealth of resources writers can access through a quick search for #writing or #amwriting.  As well as being  a great way to keep up to date with the latest thinking, I have learnt a lot just by 'browsing the blogs!'  (I've set up a page called 'Writing Links' to make it easy to find my favourites) Here is a good resource directory, one of my favourite blogs and a quirky new writer's forum site - all found on twitter:

The Writer's Resource Directory

The Writer's Resource Directory is a good example of where an experienced writer has done some of the work for you already.  California based author T.K Richardson (@eveningfades)  says “The Resource Directory is here to assist writers in finding the information they need. Whether it's writing tips, editing advice, marketing your book, or discovering your publishing options" 

Writers In The Storm

This is a 'team effort' as Writers In The Storm is the work of a group of authors who say they chose the name because every writer must weather the storm within –  of self doubt, rejection, deadlines, and balancing our writing passion with everyday life.  Not to mention the storm raging outside - the paradigm shift in the publishing industry.  The main contributors are Laura Drake (@PBRWriter) Jenny Hansen (@jhansenwrites)  Sharla Rae (@SharlaWrites) and Fae Rowen (@FaeRowen)  - well worth a visit

Novel Publicity

One of my favourite blogs is the Novel Publicity site from Michigan based author and publicist Emlyn Chand (@emlynchand)  Emlyn has recently set up a Novel Community forum that is well worth a visit - still early days but a great idea to run alongside her 'twitterviews'  - online interviews with authors you can follow with a #tag


And finally...

Omaha based author and talented cartoonist Jeffery Koterba (@jeffreykoterba) has many claims to fame (not least of which is that in the summer of 1978 he was struck by lightning!)  The good news is that he survived to produce the Koterblog that shows that a blog can be inspiring, funny and poignant all at the same time.

A writer's week on twitter - poetry

Not all writers are poets but all poets are writers (discuss?).  This week I have been exploring poetry on twitter – and learning a lot. 

Haiku on twitter

It is strangely satisfying to share a complicated idea in less than 140 characters – and definitely good practice for writers used to 2000 words a day (more on a good day...). 

The ultimate in this has to be the clever use that some poets are making of the Japanese Haiku form.

It was looking out for these that I discovered Lori Franklin (@JaneBeNimble), who has written more than she can remember (and inspired me to re-discover the poet within me!).  I asked Lori for her favourite and she suggested: 

Carrying the pail ~ hand tightly grasping handle ~ petals drift away

My own favourite of Lori's is:

Rain carving ~ channels through rock ~ my love ~ on a journey
~ to your sea

Dreaming in Darkness

Another of my favourite poetry ‘discoveries’ is Jessica Kristie, (@JessKristie) from the California Bay area who after many years is launching her new poetry compilation Dreaming in Darkness in March (she started when she was ten.)  Jessica encourages everyone with an interest in poetry to pursue their dream of being published.

I asked if she had advice for others planning to publish poetry and she said “It’s not an easy road and requires determination and a thick skin.  Writing talent is subjective and, like all art, can be heavily criticized.  Know your skill level. Be honest with what you are good at, and what you can improve on.  You have to work at it and find your niche within that world.”

I have wondered if it is harder to get poetry published and Jessica told me “There is a lot of opportunity out there and people still do enjoy poetry.  There are plenty of book publishers, magazines and online writing venues that take poetry submissions.  Take your time to research and find the one that best suits your work - then submit submit submit!”

How twitter can help poets

I asked another of my favourite 'twitter poets', San Fransisco based Nikki Dreams (@NikkiDreams) if posting had helped her develop her poetry. Just asking the question inspired a heatfelt post on her blog. She says “Twitter is a hugely viral way to get instant feedback and provide expose for more people to your work. I use Twitter more and more as a tool to get that exposure.”  Nikki agrees that the art of writing micro-poetry on Twitter is great practice and allows you to break with accepted grammatical rules that actually work better in poetic formats.

Interestingly, Nikki told me that one of her ‘little bursts’ on Twitter evolved into a full screenplay that she is now writing (see How twitter can help poets on her blog Nikki Dreams and more of her amazing poetry on Translucidity).

A writer’s week on twitter

This week I have been learning about eBooks – can any writer afford not to?  The great thing about twitter is that the writing community are so happy to help.  A good example is Sydney based writer, journalist and eBook specialist Steven Lewis who runs Kindle Writers.

Steven has been around eBooks from the start in 1993, when he published his first e-zine. He told me “When I started writing seriously, self-publishing was expensive and still had the smack of vanity about it, then the Kindle floated into my life in the hands of a postman who didn't know what he was unleashing. In that familiar brown Amazon box was the answer as far as I was concerned. Within a couple of weeks I had my first title in the Kindle store. Now I can write anything I want and, with a growing pool of millions of readers, find enough who share my interests to make it more than worthwhile.”

More eBook resources

A quick twitter search led me to some great eBook resources, including Joel Friedlander’s The Book Designer which is full of practical advice. Joel is a self-published author and blogs about his experience of book design and the indie publishing world, so I have been watching out for his posts – and learning a lot.  On his blog this week Joel interviewed eBook ‘guru’ Joshua Tallent who has a site called Kindle Formatting  - a really very useful resource for anyone interested in publishing content on the Kindle.  As well as loads of background information Joshua gives a clear step by step guide to conversion from Word.  

High spot of the week

This has to be Joanna Penn’s relentless launch week of her new eBook Pentecost.  As someone who plans to do something like this myself one day, I made a point of looking out for the blogs, tweets, interviews and podcasts.  Anyone who thinks eBooks make publishing easy needs to talk to Joanna, who told me “The launch was very hard work to prepare, a rollercoaster to experience but totally worth it in terms of sales, networking and marketing!”

Favourite quote of the week:

“TV was banished from our house and since then I have written four books” ~ Joanna Penn

Just a nice ‘tweet’

When Tanya Ray  tweeted “Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark”  she said it was on her desk in front of her - but didn’t know who it was.  Intrigued, I looked it up and found it is by Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature. (If anyone is looking for a really amazing true story his has got it all - including turning down a knighthood and bcoming the voice of India's spiritual heritage.)

Funny tweet:

@TwopTwips  via   @p_f_c  “PRETEND you have an iPad by disabling Flash in your browser and having a less than satisfactory internet experience”  (Well it made me smile)

Contact me on tonyriches@live.com  or follow me on twitter @tonyriches

The Creative Spark

There is a German proverb “Von nichts kommt nichts.”  I used to translate it as ‘you can’t make something out of nothing.’  The phase takes on a new significance, however, if you see it as an idiomatic expression, meaning something different from what the words literally imply. When an idiom is translated into another language, its meaning is often changed. Perhaps it is better understood as nothing comes from nothing?   This is an interesting starting point for anyone pondering on the creative process. 

Creativity is a wonderful thing. It is very personal but its consequences are invariably very public.  As writers, we have to create conditions where we can tune in to that elusive creative spark and somehow nurture it into a flame.  This is an interesting metaphor for how my own creative thinking seems to work.  You may have seen documentaries where they show how to light a fire with a flint.  There is definitely some preparation.  As well as having the right sort of flint to hand, you need some good dry tinder that will light from a tiny spark. You have to hit it in a particular way and be ready to catch the spark before it is gone.  Even then, technique is important, as you must blow just hard enough to make a flame. 

The spark can come unexpectedly (and often inconveniently) when driving or even in the shower.  I have to be vigilant and make sure I write these little ‘spark’ ideas down as soon as I can, then let the tinder of my subconscious do its work.  Some show great promise but quickly fade. Others flare up into a fire that I can barely control, consuming my every waking moment.