How I Wrote My Novel

If you've ever wanted to know how I went about the process of writing my Harry Truman novel, head on over to my column at Do Some Damage today. All of us at DSD spent the week writing about how we write novels. We'll have a new theme for next week, starting with Joelle Charbonneau tomorrow.

NaNoWriMo - My Version

As many of y'all know, NaNoWriMo kicks off tomorrow. In theory, you are supposed to write a 50,000 page novel in the 30 days of November. It's not that difficult, if you think about two things. One, it's only 1,667 words a day. Two, that number is doable *if you don't edit.* Just Get It Written.

I'm doing my own version this year. By 30 November, I will complete me second novel. I suspect I'll need an additional 40,000-50,000 words so I'm basically doing NaNoWriMo. I'm just not starting from scratch. By comparison to my first novel, Treason at Hanford: A Harry Truman Mystery, which I wrote in about nine months, this second novel is my sophomore slump. Two years in the planning and writing and re-writing and re-writing and re-thinking. I've got my story down. I know what the chapters will focus on. I know where my heroine will go, what she will do, and the effect it'll all have on her. And I even will make room for little things that pop up.

But I will finish this book by the end of November. I don't expect my blogging to lessen but, if it does, you'll know why. Heck, reading James Reasoner's blog about his current schedule makes me laugh at my own lack of focus on this second book. I have it easy compared to him. But he is exactly where I want to be: a professional writer without the word "technical" in front of the word "writer."

I'll give everyone updates throughout the month. It's going to be a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Thursday's Novel Writing Tip: Tell Someone Your Writing a Novel

Just last week, a co-worker of mine asked me about my progress with my writing career...and he didn't mean my technical writing career. Back when I was writing my first novel, Treason at Hanford, I told him (and everyone else) that I was writing a novel. The cool thing was that most of those people asked about my progress. And I let them know what chapter I was on, when I expected to finish it, and so on. It was a fantastic rush. Most people were in awe that I was writing a novel and marveled at my accomplishments. Another spur was my finite deadline: I was going to pitch the book to an agent in a June conference. I was told to have the manuscript complete so I had better had that manuscript complete. And I did, partly as a result of all the enquiring minds.

Cut to last week when my co-worker asked me about the progress of both podcasting Treason at Hanford and the progress of my second novel. The podcasting will come later this year. But the embarrassing part was having to tell him that...Justice in H-Town, my second novel, is still unfinished. Frankly, it was embarrassing...and I only have myself to blame. I tried to couch the reason for my unwritten second novel in structural issues ("I was writing the book this way but then I realized that it needed to be this other way.") and they are valid issues. The structure and tone of a book has got to be right, especially for its first reader: the writer. If a book sounds false to the writer, everyone else will pick up on it and stop reading.

So, I was telling my co-worker these things, true though they were, and it sounded hollow in my mouth and my ears. Embarrassing. And I hated myself for not having a better answer. Or for allowing this second novel to languish for so long. I decided to do something about it.

That was Friday. Saturday I met Duane Swierczynski and that was an inspiration. Now, I'm on the path to completion. Now, I'm back on the horse and will complete Justice in H-Town by Christmas. There, I'm telling everyone out there so y'all can ask about it.

Summary: By letting other people know you are writing a novel/short story/whatever, you give yourself some accountability. When you are on track with your book, telling people who ask is thrilling. It gets you excited and back in front of your keyboard that much faster. Heck, it'll make you want to write even more so than normal. When you are off track, however, it's embarrassing to tell people of your lack of progress. Both feelings can spurn you on. I just prefer the former over the latter.

Treason at Hanford: A Harry Truman Mystery - Chapter 1 online

Over at my fiction blogsite, I have now posted Chapter 1 of my first novel, Treason at Hanford: A Harry Truman mystery.

For a first-time author, I met with some nice successes in 2006 as I starting pitching my first book. To start, I found myself an agent. She liked the first three chapters so much that she offered to represent me without seeing the rest of the book. Nice praise.

And, in two writing contests, the manuscript won Third Place. The second time, I actually won some cash, a first. It is exciting.

My love of history infused this book and spurned it onward. I am happy to write that more than one person did not see the big twist toward the last third. Honestly, I patted myself on the back for that one. It probably has some more work to be done to it (it's been through six edits) but I still like it. Pop on over to Texas Pulp Writer and take a read and let me know what you think.

Texas Pulp Writer Launched

It occurred to me over the weekend that I keep referencing my novels, the one I have finished (Treason at Hanford: A Harry Truman Mystery) and the one I will finish this month (Justice in H-Town). And, as the title of this blog states, I have won awards for both books. In preparing the blog for the Writer's League of Texas, I got excited about what I am trying to do.

So, as of today, I am going to start posting some sample chapters. And I'm starting with Justice in H-Town. With all the books I'm currently reading, it makes some sense to start with Justice. Please comment away, if you so choose. Tell what you like, what you didn't, and whether or not you are compelled to read the next chapter.

The entire URL is http://texaspulpwriter.blogspot.com. Enjoy.

I'll post Treason at Hanford in the next day or so.

[NOTE: I changed the link to be "Texas Pulp Writer" instead of "Lone Star Noir" so that I post different types of stories, not just crime stories.]

Writer's League of Texas Novel Contest: Results

In the words of Agent Maxwell Smart: "Missed it by that much."

My second book, Justice in H-Town, missed the cut for the Writer's League of Texas 2008 Novel Contest. Bummer. But I got my score sheet back...and it's full of little gems that are quite encouraging. There is a scoring system that consists of ten categories. Each category is awarded a score between 2 (Major problems) and 10 (Excellent). Here are my results, starting with the last one.

For anyone who thinks grammar is not important, talk to me. I mean, I'm a tech writer so I should have caught the little things (tic not tick; who's not whose; short not shot), right? Wrong. I got an 8.

Synopsis: 6 - I had to condense my one-page, single-spaced synopsis to a one-page, *double-spaced* synopsis. While the judges said "Great opening! Excellent premise.", they said the ending was somehow unsatisfying.

Hook: 10 - This judge said similar things that another judge mentioned: lose some of the introspection in chapter 1. "Great hook, though - the stand-off scene has a good tone and great tension. And the chapter end really leaves us hanging."

Structure: 10 (see a trend?) - "Great job - sucks me in and keeps the tension up."

Characters: 10 - [no comments]

Conflict: 10 - Money quote: "I'm dying to know what happens next!"

Dialogue: 10 - "Natural dialogue, good, snappy, internal monologue, and a great narrative/dialogue rhythm. Well done."

Setting: 10 - "Excellent job during the stand-off - great description."

Plotting: 10 - "...Excellent transitions and scene opening, good rhythm."

Technique/Style: 10 - "Very readable - funny, yet real and vulnerable main character. Good scene structure, excellent transitions, good tension. Nicely done."

Additional Comments: "Top contender; your grammar errors and synopsis held you back, but great job. Clean this up and send it out!"

--
Now, how's THAT for some Friday morning encouragement! And it couldn't have come at a more perfect time as I'm wallowing in doubt about the story. Uh, not any more. :-)

Another Novel Milestone: 100 pages

Up until now, I have written only two things that were longer than 100 pages. The first was my thesis in college and the second was my Truman novel. Today, at lunch, I can now count three things I have written that were over 100 pages. I passed the 100-page mark today for my new novel. It happened in chapter 14 and I managed to write chapter 15 as well. It's an exciting milestone to reach.

Somewhere, I read a comment by Elmore Leonard that said that a book's character doesn't appear until he's written about 100 pages. Ironically, the prose in chapter 15 was quite difficult to write and 'see' in my head. I hope that does not continue for the next 100 pages. It's a scene where my heroine is being grilled by her commanding officer. I can do cop talk when it's a scene between a cop and a thug. Cop-talk is just a truncated version of English. But a CO to a subordinate, both of whom are cops, is tougher. Don't know why but it is.

Writing Process: Critique Groups

Critique groups are the reason I am writing novels today. That's how important I think they are in shaping my writing and your writing.

Back in 2005, my friend, Doug Warren, was writing his first novel. Up to that point, he and I had talked about writing but that was about it. Little did I know he was writing his first book. I had a few ideas but they were just the amorphous ones all wannabe writers have.

One day, Doug asks me the question all writers eventually have to ask: will you read my novel and tell me what you think? There it was. The Moment. Unless you are a diarist who only writes to get things out of your head but no one else will read, all writers want to be read. You *have* to put yourself out there and face the world. I call it Great Motivator #1: Find a Critique Group. My response was pretty quick: Sure...if you read my novel.

Rapidly, we established a routine of meeting for lunch every Wednesday to talk about our chapters. We submitted completed chapters by Tuesday and we'd have a night to critique each other's chapters. This was the Great Motivator #2: Set Deadlines and Meet Them. You have to establish a deadline for something, anything, to be read by someone else.

Motivators #1 and #2 are essential. If you don't give yourself a deadline and stick to it (NO excuses), you won't find the discipline within yourself to stick to it. It's really simple to say; extremely difficult to execute.

I have continued that practice with my current critique group. They are all members of the Ft. Bend Writer's Guild We meet every Wednesday night. It's a group of about 5-7 core folks. We meet at the house of the president of the guild. It's a good group because we each have different type books. We provide hard copies and take turns reading aloud and receiving criticism. I'll admit: it can be tough. There could be a chapter I worked all week on and think it's brilliant in my own head. I read it aloud and find out if that's the case. My group is kind but firm. It is absolutely essential to have non-family members read your stuff.

I'll post more Great Motivators as they come to me.

My Writing Process

Over at Murderati, Pari Noskin Taichert writes about her new Eee PC. She sums up the reason why she bought the mini PC: "In short, I want it to strip me of excuses."

We writers have tons of reasons why NOT to write when we know, intellectually, we need to do so. I treat my writing as the thing it really is: A Job. Sure, I have a day job (technical writer) but I want my storytelling to be my day job one day. As such, I'm getting myself in the habit of writing my stories on a regular basis. Many published authors make the point that if you always wait for the muse, you'll never be a writer. A writer is someone who sets aside time, writes, and works at it. That's what I try to do every day. I don't always succeed because, at this point, my storytelling is not paying the bills.

Ms. Taichert poses the following questions:

What writing tools do you use: big computer, laptop, pen & paper, charcoal & papyrus?
How do you relate to them?
Have you ever bought an instrument that opened your mind, eased the process?
Have you ever experienced the opposite effect?

Here is my response:
Two manuscripts into my storytelling career (I'm currently a tech writer), I am comfortable writing on the laptop as well as pen-and-ink. My main method of writing is my MacBook Pro 15-in. laptop. I use a USB key and keep my books and stories on it. This way, I can go from my office laptop (writing at lunch) to my home Mac and work anywhere. On vacations, I do *not* take my laptop. I take a comp book and pens. I find the scratch of the pen on paper and the slower pace to be calming. Yes, there are times when the ideas are flowing and I long for the speed of typing. However, when I'm stuck, I'll turn off the laptop, pick up the pen, and write longhand. It's quite conducive to getting around a roadblock. I also have MacSpeech Dictate, a speech recognition program. It's about 92% accurate. I enjoy sitting at my laptop, eyes closed, and dictating into the machine. Yes, I have to say words like "Comma, Period, Open Quotes" but it's nice to save my fingers and wrists. What's also nice is that I can dictate my longhand writing into the machine without having to type it in. I am hopeful that Dictate will allow me to increase the speed of my writing.

Now, to y'all, how about it? How do y'all write?

Writing Process: To Hold or To Chuck?

Over at Murderati , the blog about crime fiction and the business of crime fiction, Brett Battles posted an interesting entry entitled "Faraway, So Close." He laments the following:

As inevitably happens every time, I’m in the final push to finish my next novel and I’m questioning the ending I had in mind.

I can relate. I mapped out my first book, Treason at Hanford, religiously, allowing little nuances to appear within scenes but sticking to the script. Period. The good thing was that I was able to write that book in eight months. For my second, it's been an exercise in change. Initially, my hero was a black, ex-con seeking redemption. Now, using the same characters and setting, it's a story about a female HPD detective seeking justice. And it's been nearly two years since I first had the idea. NOT good.

I have found myself throwing out cherished (in my head) scenes that I *thought* were important. Oddly, though, once I chucked some of these ideas overboard, the story started flowing. And the pathway of the story revealed itself.

When I wrote my Truman book, there was a scene I had in my head, fully realized. I decided not to write that scene out of order (that is, write it as soon as I 'saw' it in my head). I wanted to get there with my characters. And it was a joy when I finally did get there, six months after envisioning it. And the scene was 99% intact.

Now, I have an ending in mind for my new story. It's an ending I have had since I first conceived of these characters. I'm curious now as to whether or not that ending will actually be *the* ending. And, since I have given myself a deadline of 1 June, I'll know within two months if it stays in the story...or if I chuck it for something better.

Another Contest - Another Win

Over the weekend, I attended the spring workshop for the Ft. Bend Writer's Guild. The speaker was Ron Rozelle. And it was great. I highly recommend that you go hear Ron speak if you get a chance. My wife sometimes asks why I attend conferences and workshops when all I need to write is either pen/paper or a computer. I do learn things, even if it is reinforcements of things I already know.

The good news about this workshop is that I won Third Place for *both* of my novels in the Novel Contest. This is the second win (also third) for Treason at Hanford: A Harry Truman Mystery. But it marks the first time my second novel, Justice in H-Town, has won. And the second book isn't even finished yet. Like I did last August when Treason won its first award, I stopped by Michael's on the way home and picked up a frame for my JiHT certificate. Awesome!

Oh, and this marks the first time that I've won money. It was modest. But it was monetary. The win was much more important. Like a business man who frames his first dollar, there's a certain part of me that wants to frame this check. But I think I'll hold off and frame my first advance check instead.

Novel Update

Since my last entry, I've only written about 400+ new words. As of today, I'm stopping the old/new words list. It's now just total words. No, that's not the way NNWM's supposed to be but there it is.

Why? Because I now know my entire book in my head! I have mapped it all out, scene-by-scene, with Acts I, II, III. I've got the grand finale and, I think, a fantastic ending. It's full speed ahead from now on. Who knows? I might even finish this puppy by 30 November.

For the sake of numbers, I'm up to 14,247 words.

NaNoWriMo - Update 2

I got some great feedback from my writing group last night. I gave them my new Chapter 2.

NNWM Word count = 3500
Total word count = 11,400

NaNoWriMo - Word Count Update

During my lunch hour, I banged out my new chapter 2 and revised my old chapter 3. Remember: I am only counting *new* words for the sake of the NNWM month.

New words = 2810.
Total words (including previous material) = 6400.

The beauty of my storyboarding technique is that I never have to ponder what to write when I have a chance to sit down and write. I look at the next scene in line, visualize it, and write it down. And, to be honest, when I'm in the process of writing a book, I'm rarely not thinking about it. As a result, I visualize many scenes in advance. So my writing time is merely recording of the details of the scenes already in my head. I have 38+ scenes mapped out that will take me to the 90% mark of the book. I know the ending (I think) but I'm leaving the last 10% open to chance.

This is the first time since I finished my first novel in June 2006 where all the cylinders are firing and writing--the actual business of typing words on a page, not just the conceptualizing--is fun again.

Cheers.

NaNoWriMo - Update

Okay, so I did not get off to a good *writing* start. I have yet to write a *new* word. (I say "New word" because, as I mentioned, I have already started portions of this book. I just plan to finish it in this month.)

However, I did get off to a great structural start. As of today, I finally have the entire book mapped out, scene-by-scene, from the beginning to the end. So I think the weekend was a success. I ran the overview by my wife and got the thumbs up. So, today, I start writing new words.

This is very exciting.

NaNoWriMo and That Previously-mentioned Rut

Well, it turns out that the rut was deeper than I expected. No sooner than I had two great ideas and a method for my approach to the writing of both projects that I began to second guess myself. Not a good things for a writer to do.

My biggest obstacle was doubting the connection in my main story, the Houston crime story with my female detective. There were scenes and events that, to *me*, seemed coincidental. When I brought that up with my author friend, Victoria Graydale (see links), she commented that come of the things I deemed coincidental or too easy were not. Wonderful encouragement. Makes my original story ideas seem okay.

So, how to start again? Well, why not join NaNoWriMo? Two of my friends are signing up and I guess I got swept up in their enthusiasm. Granted, I have already started writing my second novel so I won't be starting from the proverbial blank page. But I will be complying with the spirit of the game if not the letter of the law. Whatever word count number I come up with, I'll basically write 50,000 words beyond that. So, I'll end up with a 50,000+ book but I will have written 50,000 new words this month.

I expect NaNoWriMo to accomplish two things for me. One, I expect to complete my second novel in 30 days. Then, I can begin editing it. Two, I expect to get back in the habit of writing something, anything, every day. This blog will be part of that. That will make this blog more fun to visit as I'll be blogging about the NaNoWriMo experience.

Then there is this other thing. I fancy myself as a wanna-be crime novelist and that does include the pulp fiction aspect. I just picked up the latest Hard Case Crime novel, Mickey Spillane's last novel, "Dead Street." (There's a nice review here at Entertainment Weekly). Back in the day, writers churned out short stories in days and novels in weeks. And they kept doing it over and over. It enabled their job to be writer rather than something else. Even modern writers such as Charlie Huston have commented that the pace of their writing enables their career. I finished my first novel in June 2006 and I have yet to write my second. It's infuriating because the only person to blame is myself.

Now, I'm taking charge again. I want to be a professional writer. To do so, I need to write. To date, I have not. That changes. Today.

And I'm off...

I *Was* Stuck in a Rut

There seem to be two main enemies that writers face: Writer’s Block and Motivation. I have never had a problem with the former. In fact, I have so many ideas running around in my head that I know I could make some of them into coherent stories with little trouble. I struggle with the latter more often than not. And it’s never one of “What should I write” because, like I just mentioned, I *know* what I want to write about. It’s usually the *how*.

I am writing my second novel, a Crime Story set here in Houston. On paper, I started working on it in early fall 2006. In fact, over the 2007 Labor Day weekend, as my family and I did our new tradition of going to Camp Allen, I read my journal entry from 2006. I then noted that I had made a breakthrough on the new story. And the story is still not finished. I am on my fourth attempt at getting these character to act and talk. I know, flat-out, what this story is about. It’s how to tell it and whom should tell it.

Where I am now (female detective is the lead POV) is the best way of telling this story. Once I made that realization, the entire book fell into place. What I next struggled with is style. Elmore Leonard once commented that he developed his unique style only after writing a million words. I look at my first draft of my first novel (114,000 words) and realize I have about 10 more books to write until I reach that mark. So, I better get moving, hadn’t I?

I also decided to make this new story a multiple-POV story. You see, I have my female detective, an ex-con trying to make a life for himself out of the slammer, and an evacuee (among other) who are trying to cope with the loss of their city (NOLA) while living in a new city (Houston). I mean, some of the scenes just write themselves. But I fret over my style. Is it edgy enough? Does it flow right? Does it feel right? Is the reader going to care about these people? I am the first reader and, well, I care for them. And its my job to make the other readers care, too. That’s where I am on that.

Then, just this past Sunday, the theme of that morning’s sermon awoke my original inclination on how I saw this story, that is, the ex-con as the lead POV character and his struggle to stay out of jail and out of police stations. And the sermon quoted Micah 6:8 (change the translation selection to get different takes on the words). I mean, is that not a life’s mission statement in a few simple words? The end result? I started writing the ex-con’s ‘origin story’…and I’m up to chapter 3 already.

Originally, the crime story was the ex-con’s origin story but that did not feel right. Now, it’s after his ‘origin.’ But the new story I just started? That’s the new origin story.

So, I am now writing *two* novels. Granted, as one takes off, I’m likely to let the other one slip. But the Origin Story I’m writing long-hand and the Crime Story I’m writing straight on the Mac. Helps keep them straight.

That’s the update…

Treason at Hanford: Now an Award-winning Manuscript

Over the weekend, I attended the Ft. Bend Writer's Conference. It was a wonderful day and I met some great folks (Hey Dawn and Joe!). The subject of the conference was screen writing. Granted, I'm still working on my novels but most of the tips can apply to novels as well as screenplays.

Anyway, I entered Treason at Hanford into the Novel-Writing Contest...and won third place. There were others who tied for 3rd with me but the simple fact is I Won Third Place. Yippee!

Laziness is Next to...

My friend Doug has written about his current state of Non-Writing-Ness over at his blog. He talks about the differences in writing that first and second novel. He outlined his first but with his second, he is "flying blind." And that got me to thinking about my first two books.

My first novel, the Harry Truman mystery novel, Treason at Hanford, I decided to outline the entire book from start to finish. Back in 2005 when I was first writing that book, I learned that F. Scott Fitzgerald outlined all of his books. Hey, I thought, if he did it, why not me? And I also learned that even though outlining was a form of structure, the words and text took on a life of their own, revealing themselves in little nuances here and there. Another good factor about my outlining--I did it in scenes, written on note cards, and thumbtacked to a cork board--process was that in those precious two hours a day I had to write (10pm-midnight), I did not have any 'starting at the ceiling' moments. I knew exactly what I was to write that day. It helped. I wrote my first book in a little over 8 months.

With my second, however, things have changed. I am writing a contemporary crime novel set here in Houston post-Katrina. And, since I outlined the first book, I kept to that tradition. And I've found myself in Outline Hell! For the longest time, I told myself "You can't start writing until you know how the book ends." That has led to paralysis. I keep trying to figure out what the book was about and whom should be the focus. I keep trying to make the book perfect from the get-go. Wrong idea.

Originally, I had as my main character a black, ex-con, former enforcer, out of prison and seeking redemption. Now, my main character is a white, female, HPD detective with a streak of compassion running through her. How's that for a shift in focus?

But lately, I've made two crucial decisions and it all stems from the mantra Get It Written. One, I've decided to make my story a multiple-POV story. My ex-con, my detective, and some of the New Orleans evacuees will all share top billing and I will have certain chapters from each person's POV. That's a far cry from my original first-person POV versions of the book (I'm on version 4 now). Two, I'm just going to write it all down and if, after I've done that, the book does not flow with all of these characters, I'll trim it back. But I'll have the text down. As it is right now, I have nearly 100pp of written material...most of which I can't use. But it has all led me to this moment: Just Get It Written.

And, I've abandoned my intense desire to have the book 100% outlined before I start. I have 75-80% of it in my head and written down and I know how I'd like the book to end. It's just that the parts just after Act II ends and the big finale that are cloudy. But, I'm forging ahead.

I originally wanted the book finished by Memorial Day 2007 so I could shop it at the MWA-Southwest conference in Dallas back in June 2007. Then, I decided to complete the first draft by Labor Day 2007. Now, while I'll have a good chunk written by then, I'm not sure I'll have the entire thing finished. But I'll be well on my way. And, with a complete draft ready by the fall, I'll be able to start shopping my second novel around while I write/submit some short stories and start to work on Novel #3: probably a SF book. We'll see.

Oh, and once I get the software and hardware necessary, I'll be podcasting my Harry Truman novel over at Podiobooks.com. And, if that goes well, I'll podcast my second book. It's an adventure, writing, but it is a glorious one.

Writing that First Chapter...Finally!

Later on, when I finish my next novel, I can credit both my friend, Victoria Graydale, and Elmore Leonard for getting me off the snide and writing the first chapter. Last night, I attended a book signing for Graydale’s first novel, The Wizard’s Daughter, at OoLaLa in Houston, TX. It was the first book signing by an author I already know. And it was tres cool. Just seeing her there, copies of her book piled on the table, her artist bio poster acting as a backdrop, big smile on her face was a great feeling. And it reinforced my desire to do the same thing: have a signing for my books.

So how does Elmore Leonard come into play? I am reading (actually listening to the audiobook via Audible.com) his latest book, Up in Honey’s Room. I am greatly enjoying it, especially his co-star, Carl Webster. The reader does an especially fine job of conveying the speaking style of Carl, a boy who was born in Oklahoma in 1906, and all the other characters in Detroit of 1945.

But it is Leonard’s casual prose styling that I’ve been paying most attention to. His style is not flashy, just straightforward. As I have listened to this story, I remembered what my wife said to me as I tried, in vain, to write chapter 1. You are the storyteller, she said, so just tell me the story. I protested. But my wont is to be flashy, literary, unique. She smiled, and just repeated what she had just said: just tell me the story.

And I took that advice to heart last night. I pounded out six pages of text. And it felt good. It flowed nicely. So, I’m on the road. Thanks to Victoria and Elmore. See y’all on the other side.