Sunday, March 27, 2011

Writers Need Exercise

Writers, and I must admit I have been guilty of this, can be a sedentary bunch. We read, we research, we sit in front of a computer screen. We may keep odd hours, live on coffee and bad food, some smoke, some drink, and generally we don't think about the toll it takes upon our bodies.

Now, I know, you prefer the writers life. So do I. But, working on a computer all day can lead to eye strain, neck problems, back issues, poor circulation, and a host of other ills. And, after a session at the computer, the last thing I really want to do is exercise.

But, as I age, and not so gracefully, I have determined that my health is important - I have far too many more books to write. So, I have returned to an activity I used to enjoy - walking. Simple as that may sound, I change into my athletic clothes, a great pair of walking shoes, and fire up the MP3 player. I am lucky - there is a park one block from my house.

Every day, Monday through Friday, I write for a few hours, or proof/edit, and then it is off for fresh air and sunshine. I walk the perimeter of the park to whatever music is being blasted into my ears. Right now, it's five times around, and when that seems to easy I'll increase it. I come home, take a quick shower, and I'm ready for my next writing session.

I have noticed, since I started my walks, my evening writing is more productive. I don't tire as quickly when I'm working and I have more clarity of thought. Could it be linked to my new activity? Maybe, all I know is I feel so much better, about myself and my writing. So, when your attention is flagging and your muscles ache from too much computer, try a spin around the neighbourhood. You just might like it.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Schedule Benefits

When I wrote my first novel, I wrote only when the "muse" came upon me. Sometimes I would write for hours, sometimes I went for weeks without any significant accomplishment. When I finally completed the novel, I felt drained and couldn't even look at my computer.

I took a few weeks to do research on another project before I approached the second novel in the series. This time, I vowed, I would not make the same mistakes. I set a goal for myself, to write everyday, even if it was only one sentence, one paragraph, or one scene. And, by doing so, I found I had a rhythm to my writing.

I divide my writing into two sessions, one during the day, and the other at night. During the day, I seem to struggle with what I want to say. My mind wanders, I can be easily distracted, so I write what I can, to reread and edit in my second session.

My evening sessions seem to be a joy to me when it comes to writing. There are less distractions, my mind seems more focused, and the words flow. I have been averaging 1200 words a day since I started dividing my sessions and keeping track of word count. And, I write more at night. Since I have always been a night owl, that did not surprise me. What did surprise me was that the time seems to fly by. I get so involved in the story, I have to pull myself away, or I will never sleep.

I never thought of myself as a person who would follow a writing schedule, but the more I do it, the more productive I have become. It has also helped me to prioritze what needs to been done in my other writings, such as my blog, articles, and research. So, if you find your writing suffering, don't chalk it up to writer's block. Try a schedule for a few weeks. You may be surprised with the results.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Outlining Benefits

Fortunately, I can be a bit obsessive when it comes to outlining. And, never was it more helpful than this week. I have planned a series of novels, twelve in all, spanning fifteen years. Each novel, though a series, is a stand alone mystery, set in ancient Egypt. Some of the characters will appear in every novel, some will appear frequently, some will feature in one or two.

The first novel is complete and I am doing a final edit on it, while I am hard at work on book two. As I was merrily typing away, I needed a piece of information from the first book - no problem. To verify it, I checked my character sheet, and then it hit me. I could not remember if I had aged the characters. At the end of book one, I remembered adding information to the character sheets, but I couldn't remember if I had changed their ages.

After a complete read of the first book, I took out the outlines for the remaining books in the series. I noted next to the name of each character what age they will be at the time the book takes place. I know this may sound strange, but when writing a series, it is important to the reader to keep consistency. I used to read the Erle Stanley Gardner Perry Mason mysteries. It always fascinated me that his characters, written over many years, never seemed to age.

Being obsessive when writing takes time - some may say it takes the fun out of the creative process. To me, I would rather do the obsessing in the beginning, having the basics under control, so I am free to create each book and see where my characters, aging gracefully, will lead me with each adventure we take together.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Editing and Proofreading

While hard at work on my second novel, I thought I would go back and give the first one a second look. Since I normally edit as I work, I usually don't have a tremendous amount of editing to do upon completion. But, no matter how many times I have corrected and proofed, I still find things I missed.

Before I start each writing session, I read what I wrote in my last session. I proof and edit accordingly for flow. My primary goal when I am writing is to get the completed work on paper (or electronically as is the case now). Once the work is complete, then the real work begins.

I have always done line edits and always from a hard copy. Each sentence needs to build the story and propel it to a satisfying conclusion. The best way to "hear" whether something is out of place is to actually read the manuscript aloud. Trust me, one wrong word will make you stop in mid-sentence.

Proofreading it is much more fun. I take the first page of my hard copy and read each word for spelling errors. But, our mind sometimes sees that which is not there. You, as the author, know the story. So, my second step is to take the same page and read it backward. Each word then becomes just a word. It never ceases to amaze me how often I type "the" instead of "them" or "they." Spell check will not pick up the error because the word is not spelled incorrectly - it is the wrong word entirely.

It may seem like a lot of work, but it is well worth it. I want to be proud of each work I put my name on and taking the extra time and putting in the extra effort is what makes a book special.