First Impressions Last

When you pick up a book, what do you look at first when deciding whether or not to read it? For some it’s the title or the blurb, others go by reviews and some will open to the first chapter and scan the first few lines. I go by the order of title, blurb, first few lines. But having said that, as much as the title and blurb might hook me in, if those first few lines don’t grab me then it all hangs in the balance of whether I’ll give it the time of day or put it back on the shelf.

It goes without saying that the most important sentence you write is the first one. And that probably explains why it can also be the most difficult. For The Secret Diary I’ve got about ten opening lines so far and I’m not happy with any of them. The story is written in the first person and the opening scene is with my MC, who at the moment the scene starts is a very angry teenage girl. Also, since I decided to change the format from diary to narrative I’m caught between writing as if she’s telling the story and writing while she’s living the story. I guess the former would be similar to the diary format so I’m strongly considering the latter.

But it still brings me back to my dilemma of the opening line! It’s hard to know what will grab my reader’s attention. For me, they’ll be 16 – 18 year old girls. I almost think I picked the hardest audience to please, but I’m sure there are worse cases. Let’s face it though, if I haven’t hooked my audience with a string of words that will not only make them want to continue, but have to continue, my book will be stranded on that cold, lonely shelf. It’s certainly no easy feat but one I, and I’m sure countless other writers, have to accomplish.

Getting to Know You

One of the biggest things I noticed while going through my current manuscript was how flat some of my characters seemed to be. I’d written up character sheets for the few major characters I had, but since the others were only small appearances I didn’t bother since I was sure I could write them without the need. But then I thought why. Why does my MC deserve a character sheet any more than the small bit part characters she meets along the way? It’s especially important, or so I’m discovering, that if you plan to write a series it’s imperative you know who’s who other wise you’ll be stuck when that bit part turns into a lead.

So I started again and from the top. My MC has a new profile and even a few more added traits. I’ve got reasons why she’s liked and why she’s disliked. Her talents and failings, her strengths and weaknesses. She’s not just 3D, she’s animated 3D. And now I have something I can refer to as I venture into the other books as well. Whatever situation I decide to throw at her I know I can come up with a solution for it because I’ll know how she’s going to react.

I have to say that it’s been quite fun with the other characters too in that I’m able to dream up whatever likes and dislikes I want them to have. What habits they might have, not to mention a bit about their own family. I can choose who loves to play football and who doesn’t, who should sing and who shouldn’t. Who fills their school book margins with tiny doodles and who bites their nails to the quick. It’s amazing the different attributes of people. It’s always a good reason as a writer to simply sit and observe. You never know when someone performs a perfect character trait.

A New Approach

I have to come clean. Writing on the train has not worked and it will not. It was really uncomfortable (and I mean physically, not from the point of a person sitting next to me, wondering what I’m doing) and I was all hunched up with my notebook in a cramped space that did nothing for my back, let alone my handwriting. It took me ages to get into it and by the time I’d really started I had to stop. In fact, I only gave it the one trip before I knew how useless writing on the train was going to be. All is not lost since I now spend the time reading. I’m back into my YA fiction and I’m finding it a much more satisfactory use of my time since I can get into a book in the blink of an eye. And since I believe you can never do enough research this will suit me just fine.

As far as The Secret Diary goes, I’ve been feeling really inhibited by it. The main reason for this has been where to begin. Since I made the decision to change it I’ve been dancing around it without really sinnking my teeth in. I realise I need a brand new outline, a new plan that I can focus on and stop trying to beat the old one into shape. It won’t mean a total rewrite, most of what I already have is going in but it needs a new approach so I can get the thing sorted and back on track. Time will always be a problem, but that hasn’t been the full extent of why my writing has stalled. The biggest issue is getting over this hurdle, then I know I’ll find the time as I’ll have it under control and will actually want to continue on with it.

Besides, I’ve got a ton of other ideas that have been tapping my shoulder for attention and I won’t be able to address any of them until I’ve got this current project finished and submitted.

Research, a Writer’s Foundations

Having The Secret Diary back from assessment, along with all its invaluable comments, it has become abundantly clear that it requires more research. I’m dealing with issues that happened decades ago so it comes with the territory that I need to find out certain aspects to make my story realistic. Something I took for granted but have otherwise found to not be a very good idea. I also need to do a lot more reading in the ways of today’s teenager.

I’m happy to leave out my indecision – the quirk – since it doesn’t appear to be required. That in itself is a good thing in that I don’t have to stress about putting in details after the fact. I do still need to do a complete rewrite as it’s not reading the way I intended. That’s ok too, because I had in fact been writing it – unknowingly, mind – the way I’m planning on changing it, so it won’t cause a great upheaval.

I’ve been researching a great deal for Devil’s Advocate and I’ve found that even the smallest detail – a single sentence – needs to be thoroughly investigated to maintain authenticity. This story is also dealing with past events and I don’t want the story to fall down simply because I failed to find out an actual fact. Thank heavens for the internet. Mind you, I will also be turning to books since not everything is available online, as I’ve frustratingly found out.

Devil’s Advocate

I have just seconds ago sent The Secret Diary to receive a much needed assessment. This will give it the guidance I require to see it through to final completion. It will also affect the direction that furture stories under this series takes. The word count for it stands at 46355, which is still a bit off the mark, but I’m happy nonetheless.

With The Secret Diary on its way I can now turn to the planning and writing of the next book, Devil’s Advocate. I’m quite excited about this one as it sees characters previously introduced coming into their own and there’s one I’m champing at the bit to write about. She’ll take a fair bit of research but I know it’ll be a fun and quite rewarding process.

So I’ll whip out my trusty exercise book – I’ve got a new green one – and start on the journey that will hopefully see another manuscript finished in the coming months. I’m going to start with an outline and make sure the story line is sound. I’ll then begin on my spreadsheet with the list of events. I might even spoil myself with a passage of writing or two.

Even though The Secret Diary is far from finished I feel confident to start the next one as it’ll be either complete rewrite or just a tidy up when it returns and I don’t want my keyboard to cool just yet.

The Prospect of Starting Over

I know this is a situation that has effected a lot of writers and authors as they’ve perfected their craft and worked on their stories, but it’s a situation I’m now facing and I have to say that even though I know I’ve got a long road a head of me, the disappointment only lasted the briefest of moments.

I started my original draft of The Secret Diary in November and tomorrow would see me three months and four drafts into the project. I suppose the obvious question is, am I comfortable with having spent all that time on something I have to start over? Well, in a word, yes. Without all that work I wouldn’t be here, in fact I’d probably still be fluffing about; not having a serious project to concentrate on.

I could, perhaps, blame my daughter, who at the humble age of ten, sparked an idea that would see my story change in its entirety and more than likely for the better. But then too, it was I who asked her the innocent enough question. As I’ve said in previous posts, I felt the need for a quirk in my story. Something different, obscure perhaps, but something to make it stand out from the crowd a little more.

And I think this new idea has the potential to do just that. Of course I gave my daughter a bit of a fright when I went all crazy with excitement over it, but her smile was a mile wide when she realised how happy she’d made Mummy.

So although the prospect of starting over is a little daunting, not everything I have so far will go to waste and I can get stuck into one of my favourites parts about writing – reading.

Change of Plan

I’ve decided to change the climax of The Secret Diary. This won’t cause a major upset as the circumstances will stay the same, but the events surrounding those circumstances will change. I need the story to be more gutsy and have a bit more of a grab than what I’d originally planned.

This, however, won’t stop me from writing. I’m now over 8650 words which is a real boost for me. To have come this far without writer’s block (I now believe this to be simply procrastination), or coming to a complete halt is just amazing. It just proves to me how important a plan is and if nothing else then that is what I hope my blog’s message is. Plan, plan, plan!

Another astounding fact is that not once have I edited. I haven’t looked back and considered having a go through, I haven’t even thought to take a break from writing and indulge the editing side of my psyche. I seem quite focussed in getting this story down as a completed draft before I go back and start over with the new paint. Don’t get me wrong though, if I have any ideas on what might be an improvement then I note it down (this is where my exercise book really comes in handy), and yes I have pages of improvements already.

What about the climax change? Well, to be honest I did consider just going ahead with my original idea and making the changes during the edit phase. But since I haven’t reached the climax and the changes to make are relatively minor then I don’t see the point in writing something that really is going to be a waste of time. I’ll make the changes in the bullet plan so everything will be in place by the time I come to actually writing it.

And So It Begins…

I feel so invigorated and excited. I started writing The Secret Diary last night. Granted the word count was fairly miniscule – a grand total of just over 650 words – but a start nonetheless. I’m wrapped! I’ve got my plan, my MC’s voice is really clear to me and I feel that this book might actually be one of the easier projects to write because I did that one thing I’ve never done before. I planned it!

That brings me to my next project. With The Secret Diary now underway I feel it’s imperative that I start planning the next. Since this is a series I’d like to think I’ve got a few under my belt (although I’m not going to stress about finishing them) before I submit The Secret Diary. Also, and I’ll have to actually get there first, I don’t see myself being able to write the next while still writing the first. That’d just get confusing. I’ll plan number two and then number three. Mind you, I’m hoping this one won’t take too long to finish. I said I didn’t want any deadlines but I would like to think I can have the first draft finished by year’s end.

So onto writing and more planning. I’ve got a working title for the next. Devil’s Advocate will be number two but I’m not sure if it best describes the actual story. In any case it’s what I’ll call it in the mean time.

Am I Ready?

The Secret Diary has been coming along in leaps and bounds. I’ve got my detailed outline that I’ll be following as I write, I’ve created the characters – both main and secondary and I’m well on the way to tackling the voice in which I want the story to be heard.

But is it enough? Is there more that needs to be carefully figured out otherwise I’ll end up in knots halfway through writing? My planning has thus far consisted of:

1. Spreadsheet listing key events that occur – in order
2. Bullet plan expanding each event in detail
3. List of Main Characters – including their appearance, traits and other significant details
4. List of Secondary Characters – giving a brief description
5. My nifty little exercise book with all my jotted notes and ideas

My story is set in a small rural town North West of Melbourne. I’m going to draw a map, which won’t be included in the actual text but will enable me to see where everything is so I can describe it easily without getting my readers confused.

This is a series although I don’t know how many stories there are yet to be. So, unlike J K Rowling, who was able to plan all seven of her books, I’m getting as much planning as I can even though, some of it won’t be in the first book.

I figure if I have the town’s basic structure as well as the majority of characters likely to pop up at any given time, then I should be able to carry on with the other books without worrying too much about what happened in previous stories. I certainly don’t want to have to explain a sudden twin sister (or whatever) somewhere down the track. That’s when I’ll start writing for Days of Our Lives.

So overall, yes, I think I’m ready to knuckle down and get started with the actual writing of this book. I don’t see there being any problems during the writing, however I’m confident I’ll be able to deal with them should they arise.

Is Beta Better?

I’ve mulled over the idea of handing over my work to someone to read and critique. I’ve done it before and find that it does have its benefits. For one they will usually see things you don’t. Working so closely to something can often blind you to some of the finer inaccuracies that, no matter how many times you read through, you still manage to miss.

Of course it’ll still be quite some time before I even consider needing a beta reader as I haven’t even started the first draft. I’m very close to finishing the planning so I have to say it is something I’ve been considering. I hope to have the first, second and even third draft done before I engage someone else’s opinion. I need to know how far I can go on my own.

So where do I stand? Well, yes I will be getting a beta reader or two to go over my finished work. I think it’s needed and a good habit. It helps develop, not only the story, but your ability to take criticism on board and use it rather than take it personally. Beta is definitely better.