CornerScribe

Prioritizing writing

I’ve been thinking a lot about writing, especially for those like me who write across different areas. It’s hard to balance fiction, blogging, and non-fiction. To make it more difficult, the writing I enjoy the least (non-fiction) is the only one that actually brings in any money. The blog actually costs me to host and to maintain the domain name.

My goal is to publish my fiction (and, presumably, make some money from that). I find it hard to balance my writing time. It’s easier, and sometimes more rewarding, to do a quick blog entry or article instead of slogging my way through editing the novel. I don’t want to sound like I don’t enjoy the novel, I do, but the novel certainly is more in the delayed gratification category.

What kinds of things do you do to balance your writing life? I’ve tossed some ideas out below. They’re things I’ve tried, and they might work for you.

1. Write first. This works relatively well for me. At the very least, I get some fiction writing time. On the downside, it makes working on the novel seem more a chore and less something to look forward to.

2. Set goals. This works a little better. I do NaNoWriMo every year, and the sheer audacity of it keeps me writing, and I’ve gotten two decent rough drafts in the bargain. I stumble when it comes to follow-through (editing).

3. Divide into small chunks. This works very well for me. I’ve managed to work my way through the editing of the novel so far by taking it one step at a time. I set a goal to work on 5-10 pages at a time, and I’m making steady progress.

4. Focus on one thing at a time. One thing I tend to do is get overwhelmed. I need to edit, proofread, check the timeline, check for inconsistencies, and it’s easy to feel that there’s so much to do it can never get done. I’ve focused this time on looking at each scene and how it fits into the plot overall. Does the scene work? Does it belong at all? Does it end well? Do I see any major inconsistencies? By focusing on the work as a whole and how each scene fits into it, I’ve been able to stay focused on the editing at hand and make progress.

5. No magic bullets. You may have a favorite way of editing, or a favorite piece of software you use. I’ve tried several different ones, and while some are pretty good, I haven’t found anything that doesn’t end up distracting me from the work at hand. I’m better off with my word processor.

On this editing pass, I’m making the following notes.

• What is the subject of the scene? Very briefly describe what’s happening.
• What is the major conflict? Is there one?
• General notes (anything that I want to remember to check or change)
• How does it end? Does the ending work? Should it be merged with another scene.

For example, notes from one of my scenes may look like this.

• Summary: After a sermon, Fred returns to his dressing room to find his son, who has been dead two weeks, waiting.
• Conflict: Major conflict is Fred trying to absorb the situation, trying to come to terms with what’s happening. Conflict is rather weak.
• Notes: Scene is a bit short.
• Ending: Ends with Fred realizing it’s not precisely Jeremy at all. Should the scene continue? Is the ending a cop-out?

I’ll post an example of my editing in the next day or two so you can see what kind of things I’m doing. Maybe it can save you some headaches.