Chick Lit at CNN.com

A couple of days ago, CNN had a story on chick lit emphasising that chick lit is more than pure entertainment (not that there would be anything wrong with good entertainment, mind).

Maybe it’s just that my sensors are extra-sensible sinceI want to write chick lit in November, but I seem to discover all sorts of genre-related stuff at the moment. Also, I’m buying every chick lit title on display in my local Oxfam bookstore. It is important that you know the standards of your genre, after all.

Writing Routine

I have developed a routine for responding to the daily writing prompt which is a little surprising, but I’m glad about it all the same. It’s become a real routine, which means once I prepare for writing mode, I don’t have to worry about sitting down to write because the writing practically happens on its own accord. Here is what I do:

I get up, make coffee, browse through my LJ-friends page briefly. Then I open RoughDraft and take my 11 minutes to write my prompt response. The number of words I write during these 11 minutes has increased a great deal since the beginning of the year.

The surprising thing is that I write in the morning rather than in the afternoon, since I am not exactly an early bird. As far as the prompt responses are concerned, though, I often find it easier to write while I’m not fully awake yet because my inner editor seems to be useless in the morning, so I can write whatever comes to mind without having it dissected immediately. So, yeah, I write a lot of awful stuff, but I write, and that is the important thing here.

Every now and again, there are days when I can’t sit down in the morning, and on these days it is much harder for my to write my prompt response. It wants to be written in the morning, and if it isn’t it leaves in a huff, and it is hard work to make it appear any time later than 11a.m.

The bottom line is, no matter how it manifests itself, it is important for an aspiring writer to develop a routine and stick to it if possible. It may take some time to find your perfect conditions, but if you keep looking for them, you will eventually develop your own routine. Once you reach that stage, you made an important step in your development as a writer.

At least this is how I feel about my writing routine.

Planning NaNoWriMo (2)

Novel tips by Debbie Macomber

Believe in the power of your dream.

Work at it and write at least five days a week.

Just do it. Lots of people talk about being a writer, but hardly any one actually sits down and makes the time to do it.

Study what you read. Pick your favourite book and analyse how each chapter is put together including scene changes and chapter beginnings and endings.

Really, really want it, more than anything you’ve ever wanted before.

Be prepared for rejection, but don’t dwell on it.

Focus on your triumphs, like completing a manuscript or selling a sketch to a magazine, and not your failures.

Use your own experiences as inspiration.

***

These tips are not strictly NaNo-related, but some of them may still be useful (well, yeah, especially those I put in bold print, but then again it’s up to you what you find useful).

Recommended Podcast for Writers: The Kissy Bits

I have told you about my favourite already, but there are more podcasts for writers which deserve your attention.

One of these is The Kissy Bits. It’s about romance writing. If you are not a romance writer, Kiki still offers lots of advice for everyone who needs to write a love scene every once in a while.

My favourite podcast for writers

That would be I Should Be Writing.

If you are an aspiring writer, you want to listen to Mur Lafferty’s Thoughts on life as a struggling fiction writer. Trust me, if you’re not listening to this one, you are missing out.

(I also listen to Mur’s other podcast, Geek Fu Action Grip. Nothing to do with the craft of writing, but still an entertaining podcast. She has been reading some of her serialized fiction called Heaven over the last couple of shows, and I love that story.)

What to do with that first draft

So, writing the first draft may have seemed hard work. But when you’ve done it, you’ll find out that the real work is just about to begin: you have to revise that masterpiece of yours. Here’s what Ernest Hemingway said about the first draft: “All that matters is that you finish it.”

Holly Lisle’s method of novel revision is something I really should try (she has another version online, too, plus lots of other free articles on many aspects of writing). This sounds like the kind of method that could actually work for me. So far, I’ve never revised any of my novel drafts to the point where I’m happy with the thing.

Does I work? Well, it works for Holly Lisle. And Jay Penney used Holly’s method and blogged his revision progress here.

Mindmapping for writers

On my neverending search for good writing advice, I came across this article on mindmapping for writers.

I’ve been using a combination of clustering and mindmaps for some time and find both  techniques useful, especially when I get stuck on something. It’s amazing to see what connections your brain makes when you’re not paying close attention.

Writing links

Here’s another article full of useful links I just discovered.

Writers write

Sounds stupid, it’s true though.

And if you are a writer, I bet you went through a phase in your life where you said you are a writer BUT you don’t have the time/ the inspiration/ the whatever right now for writing. Which is of course nonsense. You’re either a writer, which means you write, preferably every day, or you’re someone who claims to be a writer.

I just found this article which addresses the problem of people making excuses for not writing. Read it and get writing. It’s easy, just do it.

I’m a writer. I write everyday.

Manchmal

Es gibt Momente, in denen lese ich mir einen Text durch und denke, “hey, das ist richtig gut”. Gerade hatte ich so einen, das erste Mal seit langem. Ich würde dieses Gefühl gern konservieren und benutzen, wenn ich mich mal wieder so richtig schlecht finde. Die Momente kommen leider viel öfter vor.

Aber jetzt lese ich erstmal weiter und hoffe auf mehr Momente der seltenen Sorte.