NaNo Day 29: Write-A-Thons

It's the end of NaNoWriMo! Are you putting the last few thousand words together this weekend and making it to that beautiful 50,000? I hope so! And hopefully I'll be right there with you. But if you feel like you are crazy behind in your word count (like I happen to be, yet again), then you can do what I did last week and have a write-a-thon.

Write-A-Thons

A write-a-thon is just like those read-a-thons you had in fourth grade. You can load up on healthy snacks, grab a comfy pillow, and spend the day writing away. Last week, I was very behind in my writing. We're talking about ten thousand-ish words behind. I called my writing buddy (you all remember Katherine, right?), and she popped over for a few solid hours of writing. We wrote and wrote and blasted past those difficult blocks. Then, sadly, she had to go home. But did I sulk in the corner and watch Netflix for the rest of the night? NO! I kept writing. And writing. And writing! And the next day, guess what I did? I wrote some more! And by the end of that day, I was completely caught up in my word count and feeling great about life.

Of course, things happen. And you, like me, may find yourself off the high of being on track and back to thousands of words behind (think 17,500). If you're losing hope, you can join me tomorrow, Saturday, for a NaNo write-a-thon! You'll be writing with thousands of others because, well, it's Saturday, and it also happens to be the last day of NaNo. So if you really want to finish, you may have to spend some solid hours at the keyboard, pounding out all the words you need. Just don't give up. That's the key. Start early, take some breaks, don't give up, and try not to fall asleep!

photo credit here

You can make it! This is coming from a girl who is seriously far behind. But I can do it too! Use all of the tips you can think of and just finish that manuscript. Maybe by the end of the day tomorrow, we'll be NaNo winners after all.

Good luck!
Holly
Current Word Count: 32,685

Interview with a Publisher

We're taking a break from our NaNo posts to think about the future of those NaNo manuscripts. Have you ever wanted to get the inside scoop on how to get your manuscript noticed? Recently, we were privileged to interview author, editor, publishing veteran, and Disney enthusiast Lisa Mangum about her publishing insights. Read our interview with her below.

What do you look for in a cover letter that pushes you to read the manuscript attached?
I like a cover letter that is well-written and professional. The best cover letters have a solid hook for the manuscript that is specific and engaging and that touches on the four main elements of the story: the protagonist, the main goal, the main obstacle, and the consequence of failure. (For example: Frodo must journey to Mount Doom, battling an army of evil creatures, in order to destroy the Ring of Power, or else all of Middle Earth will fall into shadow.)

What kind of information do you like to see in the short author bio?
When it comes to author bios, tell me the important details about yourself that relate to writing. I’m interested in if you’ve been published before, if you belong to any writer’s groups or attend any writer’s conferences, or if you have won any awards or honors for your work. For first-time writers, that can be tricky since you may not have a long writing resume to share. In that case, less is more; use the space you would have used on your bio to tell me more about your book.

In the first page or so, what are the first clues or triggers in a manuscript that make you know you won’t read more? And which elements do you recognize that make you want to read more?

The first page is so important when it comes to reviewing a manuscript, and yet the main job of the first page is to make me want to read page two. I think it’s important to present a problem on that very first page—it doesn’t have to be a big problem, but if there is something amiss right out of the gate, I’m more likely to continue reading. It’s also great if you can show your hero doing something heroic in the first couple of pages. Again, it doesn’t have to be him saving the world, but a small act of kindness, or a clever quip to showcase his sense of humor, or a moment of bravery can go a long way in establishing a character and making me want to read more about him. I’ll often stop reading early in a manuscript if there are too many grammatical or spelling errors, if the writing voice is flat, if the characters are two-dimensional, if there is too much info-dumping or unnecessary description.

How can authors get their manuscript to the top of the slush pile? How can they set their book apart from other submissions?
Easy—write the best book ever written. :) Seriously, though, often I’ll pay special attention to manuscripts that come in from authors who are active in the writing community, who have attended writer’s conferences, or who have clearly paid attention to the submission guidelines and who have done their homework. Your submission is essentially your job application. You want a publisher to hire you to write stories, and your submission is proof that you would be a good investment. You wouldn’t apply for a job with a company that you didn’t know anything about, so don’t submit your manuscript without doing some homework about the company beforehand.

What are some vital things you feel a manuscript needs before you’ll consider publishing it?
I love to find a great story told with a fresh voice and built on a solid foundation of excellent writing.

What advice would you give NaNoWriMo writers who want to submit their work for publication?
Wait! NaNo is a wonderful way to get words down on paper, but any time you write that many words that quickly, you’ll want to make sure you go back through it and revise it and polish it before you submit it. So enjoy NaNo. Write all the words you have. And then wait a few months to let it settle, then spend a few more months editing and revising. Wait another month just to be sure. Then submit it. It’ll be a better book when you do.

What's the most important thing a writer can do with their manuscript before submitting it?
I don’t know if this is the most important thing, but one thing I like to do is read the manuscript out loud. That will help slow you down and see what is actually on the page and not what you think is on the page. It will help you catch typos, missing words, and spots where the writing is awkward or uneven. And if you are brave enough to read it out loud to someone else, you’ll be able to gauge if you’ve hit the emotional notes you were aiming for. Did they laugh in the right places? Cry? Beg you to read just one more chapter? If not, then you know where to go back for another look at revisions.

Do you like it when authors attach photos of themselves?
Author photos are unnecessary at the submission stage. I’m sure you look very nice, but I’m way more interested in what you’ve written and the kind of story you can tell than in how you look.

Can you tell us a bit about the manuscript acceptance and rejection processes and about how long it usually takes to hear back?
At Deseret Book/Shadow Mountain, the process is essentially the same. An author may submit his or her work online at submissions.deseretbook.com or submissions.shadowmountain.com. Then it undergoes our review process, in which we look at every single submission that comes in and evaluate the overall idea and the strength of the writing. We look at our current publishing plans and see what kinds of manuscripts we need (or which genres are oversaturated). Manuscripts that show promise are passed around the review committee for additional feedback. When we find one we would like to publish, we contact the author and begin the next phase of the process: contracts and scheduling. If, unfortunately, we decide to pass on a manuscript, we email the author with that decision as well. Our review process takes anywhere between eight to twelve weeks.

What steps should authors take upon receiving a rejection, if any?
Rejection hurts, no doubt about it, so I think it’s okay to feel sad when you receive a rejection letter from a publisher—but only for a short time. After that, you need to move forward and submit your work elsewhere. There are a lot of publishers out there, and a lot of options for authors, and the best way to turn a rejection letter into an acceptance letter is to continue to practice your craft, improve your skills, submit your work, and never let a rejection be the end of your career.

~

The editors at Castle Editorial know how much you want your manuscript to shine before you submit it to publishers. We want to help you get your submission noticed by any acquisitions editor as well as help free your manuscript from those tangles that prevent a publisher from picking your book. Those subtle issues, as Lisa mentioned, include "too many grammatical or spelling errors, if the writing voice is flat, if the characters are two-dimensional, if there is too much info-dumping or unnecessary description." When we get a chance to point those elements out to you with our guaranteed two sets of experienced eyes, we help your polished manuscript rise to the top! If you have any questions, leave a comment below. We can't wait to read your work!

Many thanks to Lisa for all of her great tips and information! Her wisdom and experience never cease to amaze.

Lisa Mangum has worked in the publishing department of Deseret Book since 1997 and is currently the Acquisitions Editor and Product Development Assistant. She specializes in editing fiction for the Shadow Mountain imprint and has worked with several New York Times best-selling authors, including Ally Condie, James Dashner, and Jason F. Wright. While fiction is her first love, she also has experience working with nonfiction projects (memoir, educational, cookbooks, etc.) and some children’s picture books.

She loves finding that “diamond in the rough” in the slush pile, and she is particularly skilled in the developmental editing part of the process. Lisa is also the author of four national best-selling YA novels (The Hourglass Door trilogy and After Hello). She graduated with honors from the University of Utah and currently lives in Taylorsville, Utah, with her husband, Tracy.

Finishing Your Novel

Different writers struggle with different parts of writing a manuscript. Some have trouble keeping a consistent voice throughout. Some have difficulties creating a convincing character. And some write dialog that is forced and frustrating. These are all legitimate problems, but they can be solved during the revision process (and an editor can help you pick them out). The bigger issue is actually getting to the revision process. Below, you will find four tips on how to actually finish that elusive first draft of your manuscript.

1. Create an outline

An outline is like a treasure map. When you outline, you set up a story from start to finish, and you know exactly where it's going to end up. The plan may put your character on a dangerous path full of craggy mountains, goopy quicksand, and treacherous villains, but the prize lay at the end. An outline can seriously help you finish a manuscript. You can write your novel in order by following the map and eventually making it to the end. Or you can write out of order; you write the scenes that are in your head right then. Both strategies work because you know what scenes you will eventually have to work on. It's almost like a checklist. If you decide to use this tactic, taking time to consult the outline will help you stay on track, get excited about coming scenes, and work toward the end of the manuscript.

J. K. Rowling's "Writing Grid" style of outlining.

2. Don't look back

Every time you sit down at your computer to bust out another 2,000 words, do not go to the start of the novel and start reading. If you need to refresh your memory about what is going on, read the very last few paragraphs that you've written. That will remind you of the plot and tone of the story. Of course, if there are details you need to remember, you can glance back, but try not to. The reason for this is that you could get stuck in another chapter. You may begin reading and editing and revising and changing. And then you'll look at the clock and think, Wow! I just spent three hours on chapter one! This may not seem like a big deal, but if you spend every day reading and editing and revising and changing chapter one, you'll never get to the actual writing of chapter five. So here's what to do: Don't go back. If you see errors, just leave them. Or make a comment about it. But make your focus the actual writing of the book. Revision time will come. But right now, it's writing time.

3. Have a reader

This can be extremely beneficial to a novelist. Find someone you trust and talk to them about your novel. Get them excited about it, and then ask them if they'll read it. Tell them that this is a first draft and that you aren't editing or revising just yet. Ask them to make comments about what they like and don't like, but ask them not to edit or suggest changes (yet). Then write! Send your friend whatever you have whenever it's done. Don't think about the errors, typos, or other issues, just send it off! Since your reader is excited about your story, they will pester you: "Hey, I haven't seen a chapter in the past few days. You should send it to me!" Or "Have you written more lately? I can't wait to find out what happens next." Or even, "It's been two weeks, and I'm growing impatient. What's going on?" This pestering will motivate you to keep writing because someone actually cares and wants to know where the story is going and, more importantly, how the story will end.

4. Look into NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month happens every year during November. Basically, you commit to writing a complete novel of 50,000 words in 30 days. The rules state that you cannot begin writing your manuscript until November 1, but you can outline and prepare as much as you want before that time. NaNo helps you finish a novel because it is a challenge. If you register through the website and finish the 50K before December 1, you get cool coupons that writers want. Though the coupons are exciting, the feeling of completion is even better. By the end of ONE MONTH, you've actually written 50,000 WORDS! Your novel may be finished at 50K, and that's great. You've hit the finish line! But if your story isn't over at the 50K mark and there's more writing to be done, just keep writing into December and January and February and forever! Not only does NaNo motivate you to write every single day (or at least 2K a day, six days a week), it helps you build a habit of writing every single day. When November ends, your writing doesn't have to. You can keep going. And, more than likely, your habit will push you to do it every day until you do write the last few words of that manuscript.

These tips can help you reach that coveted accomplishment as a writer: a completed manuscript. Of course, the revision process comes next. But before you dive right into revising and reworking your precious first draft, take a moment to savor what you've just done! You reached the finish line! You wrote a book! Yes, the road to publishing is full of bumps and bruises, but this is a shining moment that you should be proud of.

So What?

One of the most vital aspects of a novel that's often forgotten by rookie authors is the "so what?" or, in other words, the consequence. What happens if your main character fails in his quest? What if she doesn't break the curse? What if he joins the dark side? What if they don't reach the Emerald City? What is the consequence? What's at stake?

Part of thinking about your story in terms of consequences is thinking about the actions that precede the consequences. So basically: this action leads to this consequence, which leads to more action. Sometimes, consequences stem from your main character's decisions. Other times, the consequence is created by others' actions, which in turn affect the main character. Whatever the case, in a great story, something is always at stake.

Let's take The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, as an example. Katniss Everdeen has one thing she loves completely: her little sister, Prim. When Effie Trinket draws Prim's name (action), Prim must fight to the death in the games (consequence). But Katniss cannot bear to watch her sister fight and inevitably die, so she volunteers to take Prim's place (action) and engages in a fight to the death (consequence).

What would have happened had the story been more like, "Prim sat at home, and one day she died. And Katniss cried." That's hardly a story. Even, "Prim's name was drawn, she fought in the games, and she died. Katniss cried." That's a little bit better, but still not a bestseller. But this, "Prim's name was called, Katniss cried out that she would take her place, and Katniss was immediately taken away from her family to go fight to the death in the games." Now that's a story people want to read. That's bestseller material.

So what is the one thing that matters most to your main character? Is it family? Honor? Love? Survival? Whatever it is, take it away. But remember that it needs to be a consequence of someone's actions. For Katniss, her family was at stake. And then her own life hung in the balance.

Now, it was her choice to volunteer to take her sister's place in the games; it was her actions that forced her to deal with the consequence. But whose actions forced her to make that decision? The Capitol. And that is how an antagonist is born. The actions the villain takes against the hero are a means of revealing the villain. (If you want to throw your readers off the trail of the antagonist, have him take actions that benefit the hero at first. Then later, reveal that his actions were all just to further his plot to destroy the hero in some way.)

Every character or group will take action in your story. Does Katniss volunteer? Does Peeta throw the bread? Does Haymitch send supplies? These actions will all lead to consequences and future actions. Imagine how things would be different if any of these characters (or your own characters) had made different decisions. The consequences would be different. If you are stuck in writer's block, look at the consequences of your characters' actions. Make the consequences more severe. Put something even more important on the line. Does the character have anything left to lose? If yes, then put that on the line. If no, then put her life on the line.

The most important thing to remember is that without any consequences, there's no story. If Prim's name was drawn to receive a sack of potatoes, then Katniss would pat Prim on the head and they would go home. And that would be it. Or would it? Even the most innocent of actions can have dire consequences if you, the author, make it so. What if the sack of potatoes had been poisoned? What if the rest of the town was starving and they end up breaking into Katniss's house just for the potatoes? What if both of those things happened and the members of the town began dying off because of the poison? And then comes the question: who poisoned the potatoes?

Though a story about poisoned potatoes may be interesting, a story about a girl who has to fight other teenagers to the death may be a bit more interesting. So don't be afraid to raise the stakes. It is only when the consequence is so terrible that the character feels like she has no choice. And it's when she feels like she has no choice that she makes a decision. Does she sit back? Or does she stand up? Is she ready to face the consequences of her decision? Well, ready or not, she will have to.

So, you're an author and you write a book with high stakes and drastic consequences (action). So what? Well, readers will stick around to see what happens (consequence), and maybe you'll be the next bestseller (even better consequence). 

ABDs of Plot, Part 2

Read part 1

Climax

The climax is "the most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or apex." Let's use The Lord of the Rings. There they stand, Frodo and Sam, at the most important point in their journey to destroy the one ring, and Frodo manifests a change of heart. In comes Gollum, a character representing a culmination of years of servitude and devotion to the ring, and a scuffle over the ring ensues.

    Sam got up. He was dazed, and blood streaming from his head dripped in his eyes. He groped forward, and then he saw a strange and terrible thing. Gollum on the edge of the abyss was fighting like a mad thing with an unseen foe. To and fro he swayed, now so near the brink that almost he tumbled in, now dragging back, falling to the ground, rising, and falling again. And all the while he hissed but spoke no words. 

    The fires below awoke in anger, the red light blazed, and all the cavern was filled with a great glare and heat. Suddenly Sam saw Gollum’s long hands draw upwards to his mouth; his white fangs gleamed, and then snapped as they bit. Frodo gave a cry, and there he was, fallen upon his knees at the chasm’s edge. But Gollum, dancing like a mad thing, held aloft the ring, a finger still thrust within its circle. It shone now as if verily it was wrought of living fire. 

    "Precious, precious, precious!" Gollum cried. "My Precious! O my Precious!" And with that, even as his eyes were lifted up to gloat on his prize, he stepped too far, toppled, wavered for a moment on the brink, and then with a shriek he fell. Out of the depths came his last wail Precious, and he was gone. 

–The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, J. R. R. Tolkien

Did you notice the ABDs in play? The scene is clearly set and the action is quick and fluid; the story's background elements are merging in a pinnacle moment of development: the principal characters are finally brought into the critical situation; and the climatic struggle between betrayal and loyalty risks to thwart the characters' ultimate goal!

Apply this excellent example of the ABDs pattern to your own characters as you build the climax of your story. Because of unique backgrounds, each of your characters has separate longing and desires that drive their choices and actions throughout the tale. Thus your story develops, building up clashes of desire as well as conflicts preventing the fulfillment of desire, until finally something or someone is forced to choose, to struggle against a foe, to face the truth—at the risk of losing something very dear, possibly even their own life.

All roads lead to the climax, so the details you include should supply readers enough to chart out maps of strategy and build tension bridges all the way to the point of no return. Think of the climax as the thing(s) that your reader will never get back once your characters summit that paramount crisis.

Ending

Well, as they say, what goes up must come down. After the climax, comes the denouement. After the fable, Aesop states the moral. The end wraps up the overarching element that brought all the characters together. We may plot Lord of the Rings as a story about a ring that needs to be destroyed, but the concluding lines after the climactic scene reveal a deeper plot: a story about loyalty and enduring friendship.

    "Your poor hand!" he said. "And I have nothing to bind it with, or comfort it. I would have spared him a whole hand of mine rather. But he’s gone now beyond recall, gone for ever." 

    "Yes," said Frodo. "But do you remember Gandalf’s words: Even Gollum may have something yet to do? But for him, Sam, I could not have destroyed the Ring. The Quest would have been in vain, even at the bitter end. So let us forgive him! For the Quest is achieved, and now all is over. I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam." 

–The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, J. R. R. Tolkien

One purpose of a story's ending is to extract a moral or offer a broader conclusion. It may summarize or philosophize, leave the reader stunned or in happy tears, but what it must not do is stop the plot before it's finished. Throughout the entire story, the elements intersect and merge to propel us through the twists and turns and over the obstacles and around the bends. If those elements all intertwined are not somehow collectively or individually tied off, your credibility and likability as an author will promptly unravel.

Take the time to map out what you want each character to have learned or lost, gained or forfeited by the plot's end. The plot is largely completed at the climax because the driving components of the story have crashed head on. The denouement allows for the dust to clear and settle, accounts for damage and casualties, and offers a glimpse into the future of the survivors. Sometimes an epilogue can close the story, sometimes the promise of a sequel will take care of larger loose ends.

Whatever comes after the climax needs to fit the development and mood and tone of the preceding scenes and interaction between characters. But in the end, the story must end. And at some point in your background development, you must know to what end you're writing. If you don't know (and some of us are discovery writers who find the ending the closer we get to it), keep writing—don't surrender the story to a premature ending! Revisit and reapply the ABDs to every chapter until the ending reveals itself to you. Your characters will give up their secrets, the setting will settle at last, the dialogue will have the last word—and you'll have a bestseller.

And there you have it—a great start to laying your story down, letter by letter. Now you know the ABDs, next time won't you write with these!

The ABDs of Plot

Yes, usually it's the ABCs of something, but if you tend toward the slightly dyslexic (like I sometimes do) you won't find the following list out of sorts. While mnemonically muddled, it still includes the first five letters of the alphabet, so it's easy enough to remember.

Action
Background
Development
Climax
Ending

Boom, your story's movin'.

Writers will often have a general idea of where their novels will start and end, but it's the road from beginning to end that provides the composition "adventure." The middle ground is riddled with alignment-destroying plot-holes and block after block of blocks, which is, ironically, the precise kind of rocky adventure we wish would permeate our paragraphs when our stories are making no progress.

When you're struggling to get from one end of your story to the other, remember the ABD building blocks. Stories are a matrix made up of many layers of beginnings and ends: scenes (which are ideally shaped out of action), background, and development. Chapter after chapter you'll find yourself repeating the same arcs as you build each scene in your story because that's what stories do. The road is paved one yellow brick at a time.

This post will be published in two segments: first the action, background, and development, then the climax and ending. Both are aimed toward helping you get the middles of your story paved so smoothly that readers will be baffled you ever battled writer's block at all.