I don't think I realized how often I say "hell yeah" but I really do. Even in person now that I think about it. Anyhow, y'all are doing such cool shit so everyone gets a rousing "hell yeah" from me.
I'm working on a very queer horror MS that focuses on white supremacy in the Pacific Northwest and the working conditions of video game development, but I'm scared out of my mind that if I go forward with it I'll attract Gamergate attention. I can't get this story out of my head, and I know I'm going to write it, but it still terrifies me. Isn't that what effective horror is, though?
I love the concept. Yeah, you might get some fash on your feed and ex-gamergaters. Sadly harassment is such a part of the landscape these days, especially if you're afab on the internet. That said, never let the haters stop you from doing the work. Be safe, out there, but don't be silent.
if you get Gamergate attention, you'll also get the attention of plenty of other people who think the idea is brilliant and love what it stands for. It's rarely just one, thankfully. I think you should go ahead with your story!
Thank you! There's an homage to Silent Hill PT and a resort town that fell into the sea, so I'm stoked for the concepts and just need to gird my wobbly loins.
I want 2020 to be the year I no longer let publishing make me feel bad about my age or what stage of my career I'm in. I want to remember that the only expiration date on writing is death. I want to make some art.
make. art. 2020. I love this. writing is a form that rewards age and experience over youth. I know writers who sold their debut once their kid went off to college. I know writers who didn't start putting pen to page until their 40s. there's no expiration date. except death, of course, as you already observed!
In October 2019, I set myself a goal of writing 250 words every day. Since starting that habit, I've found it easier to make incremental progress on my first draft without feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task. For 2020, I want to continue this goal (with obvious breaks for holidays and vacations).
as I've written about a couple times, I really strongly believe in a practice. aim to do the thing, in this case, write a little every day, but remember to be kind to yourself if you slip. don't let a day, a week, or even a month of failing to meet your goal stop you from trying again tomorrow. failure is okay. focus on the next step, not yesterday's stumble.
this is a really good goal, I might do this too, since sitting down and thinking "I'm going to write chapter X today" is often really daunting, and it feels bad when you don't get it done. Thank you!
I really recommend it. It can feel daunting to get started, but if I know I only have to write 250 words, I feel like I can get started. Then of course, sometimes I have a good idea and I write more than 250 words, but on bad days, I still feel like I have made progress.
Goal: complete and revise current YA Horror MS and query the hell out of it.
Stuck on too much mental energy getting wrapped up in my day job drama.
Question: I've been working on getting published for almost a decade, just wrapping up my fifth manuscript, really don't want to be in the "working on getting published" boat a decade from now...help?
you're on the path and this is an industry that requires a great deal of patience. I know it feels interminable but the thing you're looking for might be here tomorrow, or next year, or the year after that. build your network. keep writing. keep editing. you got this.
I feel your pain. I’ve been working for about the same amount of time while juggling a day job, family, etc, and I’m trying to remain optimistic. It’s hard. You’ll get there—we both will. Just keep plugging away. When I feel like giving up, I try to remember what I always tell my son: “finish what you start.” I’m not finished yet. Neither are you. :)
I like this quote from Winston Churchhill: "Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” I try to remember that with every short story rejection I get.
This year I'd love to edit and query my novel. Ideally I'd be represented by someone by the end of this year, that would be awesome. And write a few short stories inbetween.
Goal: Fall in love with writing again. Querying 3 different projects for 2 years in a row has really done a number on how I feel about my own craft, so 2020 is a year of rekindling that love.
Kind of stuck on the idea that if I step away, I will be "behind" and miss out on agents and opportunities or a really good MSWL call, but yeah. Need to recover a lot of that love.
there's no "behind." there's no schedule or timeline. there's just writing the thing you want to write and then taking your shot. put aside your professional goals until it's time to query and publish. find your love of writing by focusing only on that. tell a good story. tell one that's true.
oh, and read a bunch of stuff. loving reading will help you love writing again.
I'm fifteen years and I just finished writing the first draft of my urban fantasy thriller with plenty of action. My aunt who is a freelance editor is copy editing it! So I would love to get representation by an agent and hopefully sell he novel to a publisher, this year!
I'm writing proposals for two books I'd love to write, and hopefully I will find out which of these books I will work on first as a result. Right now I can't bring myself to add manuscript words to either of these stories, because I don't know which one to invest in. I feel so weird not being obsessed with a book, but what if I pick the wrong one? I'll be all messed up.
both are right choices! give yourself permission to change your mind. write a thousand words of each. write five thousand, even ten. then step back for a few days and come back and ask yourself which one do you love. then ask others. get your agent on the line, your friends, see what they love. not what they think is marketable, what they *love*
When time is finite, it's hard to decide where to throw your energy. Option paralysis is real and terrible, but maybe look at it from the angle that words cut are worth more than words that never make it on the page. If you're interested in both, it might be worth throwing words at both projects and letting them make the decision for you.
Something I've done in the past is sign up for a pitch session at a local writing conference. Instead of pitching a completed book, I take the two books I'm thinking of starting and pitch these. Not that one agent speaks for the whole publishing industry, but the feedback I get on two potential projects usually helps me decide which to pursue first.
In 2020 my goal is to read more. I read a lot a lot a lot in 2017 & 2018, but 2019 hit me hard on the reading/writing front for reasons & I am looking forward to getting back into my reading flow this year. Because for me, reading begets writing & solves a lot of my writing hurdles. Right now I'm struggling with an issue of: "Is this long form project a novel or a novella???" So I'm hoping that by reading a few more novels & novellas in the beginning of 2020, I can answer that question myself.
I decided to make a writing goal I'm entirely in control of: working on writing for 400 hours. I'm working on a lower YA contemporary that needs a bit more marinating before I can finish the draft. I should be able to finish, revise, and start something else.
I love an hour count over a word count! spend the time, don't stress about the output. that's great and more people should do that. also, very in favor of setting achievable goals. if you blow through it, then set a new one. but either way, you'll make it happen.
I have so many directions my writing life *could* go this year, depending on if the book I'm querying gets agented, and if so, what direction we plan for future books. I can't control any of that. But I can control how much work I put in. Plus, I had that goal with 365 writing hours in 2019, and I ended up going from first draft to polished book faster than ever simply by focusing on hours. I love this new method of working. I think it's gonna stick.
Stuck on novel structure--about 50-60 pages into a new project and starting to feel at a loss about the best way to incorporate interlocking POVs and storylines. Advice or ideas appreciated!
structure is so hard, but also so easy. think about tension. think about in each separate POV arc, where the tension is strongest and where it's flagging. why save the cat works at all is it has a laser focus on this. I think the strategies it employs are cheap tricks and rely too much on senseless action. but the concept is sound. in each arc, are you moving from stakes to consequence with each beat. then, alternate those beats in a way that builds a rhythm and tension to a breaking point. see? easy.
I started out my writing apprenticeship in screenwriting school and Save The Cat was of course our bible. Once I made the switch to novel-writing, I found structure one of the easier (though of course not easy!) elements to get my head around because of my Save The Cat days. I spent weeks modifying Save The Cat to work for a novel and recently found out that someone did a much better job than me and published it - HIGHLY recommend Save The Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody, best of luck with your WIP, Lilah, you got this💪🏾
Story structure has been my undoing for years. I would get lots of full manuscript requests, but no takers. Before starting my current MS I reviewed my correspondence with agents and discovered that structure was the common theme in why I wasn't getting picked up. I've read and studied a lot on structure over the past 2 years. I don't like super didactic structuring like Save The Cat. For what it's worth, I've found a wonderful system that finally makes my writing feel "tightly plotted" without making me feel bound to some formula. It's Dan Harmon's Story Circles and I can't recommend it enough. You can find lots of Youtube Videos about it. I think regardless of your structural woes, it's a structuring system that is effective enough to keep you on track, and flexible enough to fit any story. I combine it with the basic premises of John Truby's work on story structure. Best of luck!
I had this same problem a year ago. What I did was create a grid using the Seven Plot Point Structure going down the rows, and characters and story elements (love story, addiction cycle, grief cycle, ...) going across the columns. I filled in each column one at a time and then mapped each cell to a chapter or scene (sometimes combining two cells). It really helped me, and I hope it helps you. Best of luck!
what helps for me is figuring out what the separate storylines are going to be, or why I'm using specific POVs, and then when i have that, plotting the story as a whole to see what makes sense
won't work for everybody, I know, but I hope it's at least partially useful to you! :)
Revising a steampunk reverse colonialism MS for pitching in the summer. No idea if anyone would buy that sorta thing, but I won’t know unless I put it out there. Good luck to all the other people about to dive into pitches!
This year I'm going back to trying to write every day, even if it's just a few words or for only a couple minutes. I just want to write every single day. I'm working on a novel idea that I, atypically, have planned out all the way to the end. The thing I struggle with is turning off editor brain and just moving the writing forward. Any tips for getting out of your own way so you can make the words happen?
booze. no, that is 100% a joke and please don’t do that.
I think learning to be bad at things is one of the hardest and most important aspect of getting good at things. For me, when starting out on a creative project I deliberately go “lol this is bad” but resolve to keep making it so the next thing will be less bad. Embrace the badness of what you’re working on and you’ll find, later, that it’s actually great.
I just finished two straight months of writing a poem a day, so I’m switching gears. In January and February, I’m participating in a workshop, so I’ll be writing some new poems but mostly getting better at editing. March will be a submission month, and April will be back to writing. Focusing month by month on one thing seems to be doable. By next year, I’d like to have a draft of a chapbook (which I can control) and ideally a few more pub credits under my belt (which I can’t control, but I can sub more).
I'm going to finish my WIP manuscript (because I always always always finish what I start) and then i) seriously consider self-publishing; and ii) start looking at an alternative career to writing. I've been working a part-time consultancy job for the past four years so I can have the time to write. I've written nearly every day of those four years, and I've had way too many editors and agents tell me they liked my writing but they're just not enthusiastic enough about it/there isn't a big enough market for it. I'm sick of being told that I have a long career ahead of me, when in reality I'm just emotionally and physically exhausted with nothing to show for it. I'm very proud of the work I've produced in the last four years, and I consider myself very lucky to be afforded the time and financial stability to complete my passion projects. And even if no one outside of my beta readers ends up reading my stuff, at least I will always have these books written to sate my very specific tastes. But it's time to turn a new page.
that's really hard and I'm sorry you've been having a rough time with it. I'm not going to tell you you're guaranteed you're going to get the career you wanted, but I'm glad you're still writing and it sounds like committed to keep writing. even if its at a reduced pace as you pick up more non-writing work. that's the thing that keeps possibility open.
also, I'd say, there's a lot of reasons to write that aren't about sales and money and sometimes focusing on those can make it easier to get the sales and money, ironically.
whatever you decide, good luck to you. I'm glad you find joy in your work and the readers who get to read it.
The back half of 2019 was losing a job, getting a new job, and losing any and all steam on current projects; a lot of my creative energy was diverted into running DnD games, (which I love and have no problem with), but I couldn't find any new energy for current projects. I lost interest in a novel as I was halfway through its fourth draft, and couldn't find the mindset to go into short story revisions. The only thing I actually made decent headway on was a new novel project that I just . . . didn't outline and still am not outlining and for some weird, blessed reason, is moving ahead with an energy and fervency it really shouldn't have for something I'm just freakin' winging. So I'm not going to question it, and use it as a springboard into 2020.
So, the goals are:
*Finish Chaotic-Energy-No-Outline-No-Problem Book (just hit the halfway point!)
*Use that energy to go and edit/rewrite 2-4 short stories that need some love, and get to submitting those
*Edit and revise CENONP novel, and start submitting to agents
*Hopefully sign with an agent this year!
*Also, at some point in there, launch my crowdsourced narrative fiction newsletter???
This feels like a lot, especially after the year 2019 was, but I'm feeling good about it! Here's hoping. Good luck, everyone!
Marty - you've had so much going on! It's okay if that means some long term stuff got back burnered. find your footing in your life, a roof over your head, relaxation with friends, and a clear head are all essential foundations for doing good work. you're gonna have a great year.
Ah, thanks so much, DongWon! Your support and kind words are very much appreciated, and a good reminder that the work done in the back half of 2019 is now a foundation for the work to come. I've got a good feeling about this year =]
I'm finishing the last round of edits on my first novel and aiming to draft my second novel. Also for real terrified because I'm diving into the query trenches for the first time.
This year I have 3 short stories, 4 novellas, and 5 novels scheduled. I'm currently on the first short, outlining one novel, and one novella. Not stuck...fearless. Just need an extra day a week lol.
I'm working on a novel I hope to have finished before 4th Street in June. More than that I've set a (realistic for me) goal of 150k new words this year. Also planning to rework a previous short story to send on another round of submissions.
150k is a great goal! to anyone else who saw that and had a heart attack, everyone has their own pace. I work with writers who regularly put out 400-500k a year. I work with people who struggle to break 50k. both are success strategies. 150? sounds like a reasonable doable goal. draft til june. edit til fall. I like this plan.
I've got a new draft of the book I've been working on for years -- after putting it in a drawer for 18 mths, learning the hard way from submitting it too soon, I think it's in good shape and will be even better after I finish this round of edits, but I'm terrified of submitting it anywhere again. Terrified and excited, both.
I love hearing that you're learning to be patient. line up your shot. edit that manuscript. make some connections with folks. it's a scary process, but be forewarned, forearmed, and then take your shot.
I'm very close to querying my next book and I have all the excited and nervous feels that comes with that. There's a weird amount of happiness that comes with being on the cusp of sending your baby out, when hope is still alive and anything can happen. Granted, I'm also gearing up for that crying-on-the-floor aspect that happens when the rejections start coming in.
As soon as I start querying, I'm going to start the next book. I've got the itch to write something new. So, this year: query the last book, start and finish next book, and hopefully begin one more after that and make a discernible dent in it.
I have a huge story idea I've been sitting on for about 5 years. It's very much sci fi whereas everything else I've written to date is fantasy with a folklore-ish flair. Basically, I'm intimidating the hell out of myself. I know I need to go for it, because what good is safe writing? Yet still I'm stalling a bit, and also feeling defeated due to rejections on another project, and I'm doubting myself yet also excited? I don't know. I feel crazy. Advice?
it’s all the same skillset! story matters more than window dressing and you know how to do story! don’t be afraid of using [tk] for any science-y stuff or technology stuff you haven’t done the worldbuilding for yet. backfill once you have the framework of the story and see how to integrate the SFnal components at that point. but most importantly, remember that you know how to do this already!
last year (how bizarre), i quit my job moved internationally and was completely swamped emotionally and mentally with my new job as much as i love love the work. as a result, i didn’t get to write much and burned out in august which ended up being the best thing, because i began therapy. i was in such a bad place with myself as a result of years of trauma processing that i didn’t know how to write what i needed to write anymore. but on the 1st of this year after months of therapy i began revising the end of this book and i burst into tears at the thought i could write hope. that’s my goal for 2020, to finish it and to make this book as good as i can now, in this better place. my fear is that i can’t, that i’ll always be in this state of almost. we just, i suppose, have to be a little kinder to ourselves. happy new year, y’all.
that's an amazing story and I'm really glad you got there. I'm sorry you had to go through the journey you did, but burnout can be really great for the reasons you describe. I'm glad you're in therapy and it's working for you. good luck with the book!
For 2020, I am aiming to treat my WIP as a project with a timeline (I do project management in my dayjob), and I have a new angle I'm working on in revisions with my critique partner.
I just haven't been able to write consistently since October, so instead I read a lot of new publications in my genre and this has helped a lot so I'm excited and ready to get this new draft done by March 31st! I have to build structure with weekly, biweekly, monthly goals rather than daily goals. It seems to be working so far.
glad it's going well! just remember to keep in mind all your project management tools for when a project falls off schedule too! I hope it doesn't, but a big amorphous project like a novel is likely to test the whole toolkit.
You know most of these. But: working on the locked-room architecture murder novella and the cyberpunk climate change arson book, and probably bits of Teixcalaan #3.
what I'm scared of is being -- deep enough in, to do justice to what I want PRESCRIBED BURN to be; it's not a question of research, exactly, but one of feeling like I don't have the same depth of metaphor-set, interconnected knowledge, allusive ability that I do/did with Teixcalaan. How do I write without writing about empire, when I've been writing about empire my whole career as a writer?
also how do I do time management and/or develop anything like a system or process, but the first one is what actually scares me.
scared is good! if you're not scared of the book you're writing, you probably need to sit back and ask yourself if you're writing about the right thing.
time management is hard. but you've had a lot of life disruption recently, so give yourself permission to go slow while you adjust. new town, new job, new book. all things that take time. you'll get it.
Mainly, I'm working on getting a literary agent for my sci-fi novel, Jupiter Base. Second on the list is getting one of my screenplays, an Austin Film Festival second rounder, to be a finalist this year.
Just swooping in here to say thank you, DongWon, you are full of such great advice and give the best pep talks. I’m so grateful for all the publishing paying-it-forward that you and Kate do 🖤
Hey! Awesome question. I *was* stuck until recently but after some really big breakthroughs am soaring through a YA fantasy called "The Bottomless Forest". Biggest resolution(s)? 1 - not tell ANYBODY about the plot/characters/anything until I'm finished and 2 - keep up my breakneck pace on 1st draft to avoid losing momentum. Both are big personal pitfalls. So far, I can't stop thinking about the story... a good sign.
My goal this year (as it has been the last couple years) is to finish the novel I'm working on. The main hurdle has been finding the time and energy to do so, as my job is fairly demanding and by the end of the day I don't even wanna think about sitting at a computer any more than I already have. But I'm using my PTO in a few weeks to take a week off so I can just focus on writing for at least a week (and hopefully the weekends on either side of that week), so hopefully I can actually be not-totally-burned-out and write something for once. Fingers crossed!
staycation writing retreat is great! hope you get the words out that you need, but don't forget that more hours doesn't always equal more words. your brain needs to recharge, your subconscious needs to process. it's okay to go slow, even when you have the mental space to focus. a good start will help you get where you want to go.
I’m really proud of all the work I did in 2019 to improve my writing and almost entirely shifted my writing approach. I’ve started to feel like I can see my own writing voice forming, and this year my goal is to take that seriously by making more space to commit to my writing! I have one novel I started this time last year that is approaching completion and I want to start querying it by 2021. But most importantly I want to do what someone else has already mentioned below (above?): make time for just a little bit of writing every day.
hell yeah that's awesome. starting to recognize what your voice is is such a huge step. like Dolly Parton says "figure out who you are and then do it on purpose."
Goal: I've been working out one particular story in my mind *for years* that just keeps growing and weaving in on itself. If I don't end it now, it may reach critical mass and take up residence there forever, burrowing in and consuming me until I'm a dry, papery Robin-husk stretched unconvincingly around a now-sentient-and-frustrated untold story. My goal is to finally have a REAL written outline (if not a first really ugly draft!) of the whole trilogy by the end of the year.
Afraid of: Sending it out and not securing an agent, or worse, signing with a not-good agent!
Q: What are your thoughts on signing with an associate agent vs a (regular? full?) agent, and is the difference between an associate and a full agent simply time/experience?
Is it expected/normal for a fledgling author to pair with an associate agent with the assumption that their careers will mature in tandem?
the key to understand is that you're already a hollowed out husk surrounding your story, because the story is already in you, is of you, is inseparable from you. embrace the story as part of your embodiment and let it revitalize you and restore you and then write the truth of it that's in your heart.
anyhow, on to practicalities. yes, the differences are mostly time/experience. but also remember that a full agent with a rich list might have even less time for a new author than a junior agent with one or two clients. and also, experience is important, but a younger, passionate agent might see opportunities that an older agent wouldn't. and, ideally, that junior agent can rely on their bosses and colleagues for advice and strategy. look more to culture at an agency and rely more on your instincts about a person than a job title.
a new author is not expected to pair with a new agent, although that can often happen. lots of intensely powerful partnerships between agent and author can come out of those early days and it's exciting to watch it happen.
I'm diving into a fairly big revision on what I hope will be my next book, and mentally starting to give room to the next two ideas. I'm expanding into new categories this year (both in what I'm creating and what I'm releasing) and that's a neat feeling. I wanted to diversify not just for income/stability reasons but because I feel that one of the things that I love most about writing is trying new things and learning how to write differently. Different forms and categories let me do that. Writing feels more creative and playful and breathtaking now than it has since before I was published. I feel more hopeful now than I've felt in a long time about my career, so that's a really good feeling. But I'm also very, very hesitant to let myself feel that much optimism given the last few years and struggles. Careful balance of optimistic enough to create, pragmatic enough to know that I'll get mired in new shit eventually. I don't have any daily word count goals except when I'm drafting so I'm holding off on those until February!
that's so great to hear. I think diversifying is important for many, if not most, writers! try new stuff -- whether that's genre, or style, or pov or whatever. it's good for your skills, it's good for your career!
I just want to finish something. Anything. I'm constantly starting projects but never seeing them through to completion. In the past I've been terrified that I won't "make it" and I'll be stuck in my crappy min-wage job forever, and it makes me timid when it comes to breaking out and really leaning into my writing. But I can't afford to let fear and complacency rule me-- for practical and mental health reasons. It's time. 2020, look out.
hell yeah! you can do this, easy. focus on the project you love. put the rest in a drawer. you're going to get to them. you're gonna do it. but do it in sequence, one step at a time.
I'm afraid of being rejected in queer speculative fiction writing for being too cis white male, so I guess I'm trying to come to terms with my own potential 'will to power', need to find a way of writing that won't feel like a way of colonialising yet another field of writing. That might sound megalomaniac, but I guess I'm also trying to find a way of talking about this that feels authentic and reflective of the sort of white privilege that made me stop read speculative fiction. Just eternal re-spins of the same old Asimovs, Clarkes and Herberts.
remember to center the narratives of the people the story belongs to. do your homework. step lightly and step carefully. get sensitivity readers. and be ready to ask yourself if you're doing more harm than good by putting this in the world.
but, the thing you want to do is doable and isn't as hard as you think it is. be a good ally. be empathetic. be kind. put others' experiences first.
I had some of the same concerns about my fantasy novel when I realized that one of my POV characters was gay. I've reached out to my friends in the gay community for help and got pretty good feedback (and two beta readers). I've tried to narrow my focus to the person and the fantasy culture that they live in (and people's prejudices and biases), and to remember that "love" is "love" no matter who you are, or who you love.
Hi! I set up this account so I can respond to this. So, I understand this hesitance. I feel it a lot myself, and I'm a white woman, though sapphic. I think the reason is that, maybe because of social media, it often feels like we can't make a mistake or be labelled as not being a good ally when we don't 100% agree with someone. Then we're hounded for it. And a lot of people end up feeling worse overall.
Some may disagree, but I look at it like this: As long as you mean well, don't let fear stop you into telling a specific story. Even -- and again, some may disagree - imperfect representation is better than nothing. And as DongWon said, do your research, put their experiences first, etc.
Let's look at two examples. The first is Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett. So, RJB is a white dude, but Sancia, the main character, is a dark-skinned sapphic woman who is ready to embark in a relationship with another woman by the end of the book. I CANNOT WAIT for Shorefall, the sequel, coming out in April. And I'm most looking forward to Sancia and Berenice's relationship. (Foundryside was so good!!! Read it!!!!)
Then there's the Legend of Korra, a TV shows. It's about this brown-skinned sapphic woman who develops feelings for her female best friend. Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are both white guys like you and RJB, and though they couldn't depict Korra's relationship as fully as they wanted (network wouldn't let them), they took it as far as it could go. It was an imperfect story in this way, but so many people grateful for it.
And who knows. Even if your depiction isn't perfect, maybe someone who isn't like you, who may be a person of the kind you're writing about, reads your novel and gets inspired to right their own thing, producing a huge net benefit. That's what LoK is doing for me as I'm nearing the end of my book's first draft.
My first goal is to finish the rewrite of my fantasy novel (with a touch of steampunk), and my second goal is to write my first full-length comic! I'll probably set up more writing goals throughout the year.
hell yeah, these are huge great goals. go easy on yourself, focus on the goals you have before adding more. take a step, find your balance, then take the next one. don't rush.
I have taken a minimalist approach and have one writing goal for 2020: finish the draft of a book I started in 2019 (and naively thought I could finish during NaNoWriMo). I'm dedicating every spare moment to this.
Hi DongWon! This thread is great, It's really nice to read other people's thoughts and your answers. Thanks for taking the time to read and reply to all the comments.
Stuck and afraid because the economical situation in my country is rapidly declining and the future seems so uncertain right now. More than ever, if I decided to dedicate my time to write, writing in english rather than in my native language seems more profitable. But there's always the classical doubts: is my english good enough? will my stories be well received in the english speaking market?
But while I can't shake those fears away, I'm determinated to start 2020 with courage. I decided to try and do all my writing in english this year. I'm working on a new WIP, while thinking on ways to restructure my first finished manuscript to really highlight the core of the story.
I have only one actual question, both to you and to the other readers: do you know any books that mixed first and third person POVs? I'm thinking on doing something like that, and I'd like to see how others writers have done it.
tbh, until you said english wasn’t your first language I thought we lived in the same country! anyhow, bleak forecasts aside, yes writing in english is sadly a more commercially viable prospect. depending on your market, there are often strong local publishing options, but starting from english opens up more opportunities for translation into other markets, film adaptation, etc. it’s no guarantee either way.
as for the anxieties of writing in a second language — I’d say (with no experience) that writing is always hard and always takes work. a different cadence, story structure, or imagery can be as much an appeal as a hindrance. The Witcher, for example, I think is succeeding in part in how different and weird polish mythology feels to an american audience. lean in to the elements that make your perspective and story distinct and worry less about the reception until it comes time to pitch.
Finishing a surreal, victorian, witches-fighting-the-patriarchy novel, planning to apply to Clarion West for the first time, and writing without worrying about what publishing folks think about this or that concept. Having more fun than I have in years.
Honestly, I think I'm just terrified of rejection, of spending years and years submitting and never getting anywhere, of "aging out" (I know it's not a thing but when are fears ever logical), all that stuff. And all that said, my goal is just not to let the fear stop me. I've gotten into pretty good habits at doing a little bit on a few projects each day, getting organized, taking next steps instead of staying permanently on the steps that are most comfortable and safe. I just have to not let the fear stop me. (Or the inevitable post-rejection "omg they hate me I'm terrible" phase.)
that’s the trick! you’re going to get rejected. there’s no way around it. you’re going to get rejected and get rejected a lot. it always sucks, but it’s not the end of the road for you and there’s always the next person. the agent or editor or reader who is going to say yes and be excited about your work. it’s hard but the only way to figure out how to survive it is to dive in and embrace the fear and embrace the rejection. you can do this.
I can do this! And if I keep telling myself that, I will believe it more often than not!
I do have more confidence in myself than I sound like. I just started gathering prep information on agents and it's making me nervous. Or more accurately, I have confidence in my ability to figure out a method of submitting things that's best for me literarily, logistically, and emotionally. I'm just not sure what that is yet. It's a work in progress.
Question for DongWon and everyone else on the thread. Can anyone recommend a really stellar freelance developmental editor who works on YA science fiction (mine is non-dystopian)?
yep! Ryan Boyd (https://reedsy.com/ryan-boyd) is a fantastic freelancer. Or if you want an absolute boss hugo award winning editor, Navah Wolfe is currently taking freelance work. Both might be booked up, but always worth an ask.
If Ryan and Navah aren't available, try Vivian Shaw (vivian.t.shaw@gmail.com) -- disclaimer, I'm married to her, but she's worked for Amanda Downum, amongst others (including me!) -- and has published three novels of her own with Orbit Books.
I am finished with my first novel and querying it, but also editing too. At the same time, I have also started a new YA novel, not a sequel, which I am really really in love with. (So that makes me want to work on my new project.) What do writers do in this situation? Do they do both at the same time? Regardless, I want to have at least 80,000 words by this time next year on my new project, but I am itching to focus solely on the writing. When does anyone say enough, move on? It's hard.
nah, this is perfect. having another project in the can by the time your first gets through the query rounds (whether it gets you an agent or not) is ideal. that way, you either have a new thing to query or you have another project on deck to sub or pitch once you sell the first one. use the lengthy query process to get the jump on your next career step.
Like the past two years, my goal is to finish this manuscript. After a complete tear-down and rewrite, I am better equipped this time around, although writing the end of it does scare me. I also have a short story I'm polishing that I think might be good enough to actually submit for publication.
I do great for awhile and then I just stop. Something will happen in life to distract me and it can take forever to get back to writing. I’ll think about it for weeks and not do it. It drives me crazy and I don’t know why I do it. I’m almost finished with my first book but I can’t seem to kick my butt into gear. It’s frustrating and stupid 🙄
for me, when I get blocked on a project, I find that I can fall into a self-recrimination loop. I get mad that I'm behind so then I resent the project so it falls farther behind, and so on. instead, think about ways to be gentler with yourself. remember taking breaks is work. you can't muscle through a book. you have to let your brain recharge and when you don't have capacity because life is getting in the way, you won't be doing your best work. accept these pauses as part of the process and pick up where you left off and keep going! just keep writing. any progress is progress.
I think out of all the questions and responses, Suzun, I really liked yours. You have some wonderful honesty and voice. If I could share what motivates me... let your characters tell you what to do. So many of us think that it's all about us as writers? don't put that much pressure on yourself-- let your characters tell the rest of your story. You are just the conduit for your characters to speak to you. Allow them to guide you the rest of the way.
Oddly enough that’s actually how I write. When I’m in writing mode they are constantly doing things in my head. I go to the store, they’re still arguing about who’s up next. I stop when they’re silent. That makes me sound a little crazy eh? 🤔
I just finished a short story that I love and will be submitting it for publication in 2020! First time submitting so I'm nervous yet I really feel it is my best work so I'm excited too.
Got a novel I'm still chugging along on and will finish before the year is out.
I’ve gone through long periods (sometimes months, even up to a year) since 2012 of not writing, but I have written more this past year than ever before! 5 short stories, 1 intro chapter for a near future cyber-thriller and finally made it halfway through my alternate-steam-western adventure novel draft (40k words). My goal for this year is to finally finish my alt-steam-western novel, and maybe write a short story good enough to be published.
hell yeah! so glad to hear you found your groove last year. hope that keeps up through the year. if it doesn't, remember to go easy on yourself. rest and recharge is important to write the good words. take breaks, it's okay to pause before starting the work again.
Re-writing my local urban fantasy novel. I've done revisions before, but this is the first time I'm deep diving into rewriting and consistently re-doing entire scenes. I'm trying to stay positive and remind myself as long as it's better than it was before, it's worth it - but I'm also adjusting to a new job and not making quite as much progress as I'd like.
incremental progress is progress and progress is what matters. you're doing the work and that's great. even if it's slow. give yourself permission to take as long as it takes and remind yourself it's a process.
Goals: Read 25 new books! Complete a new MG fantasy to query this fall, and query my adult UF this spring. In 2019, I queried a sci fi MG and received several full requests, so I believe I'm close-ish to representation. Stuck and afraid on whether to trunk these passed over projects or take them indie while I continue seeking rep.
trust your instincts when it comes to trunk/publish. why do you want to publish? what's your goal? if it's to make money, what's your path to success? if it's to say that you did publish, interrogate what you really want. keep your eye on your actual goal and make sure that's what you're putting your time and energy into.
I ended the last two months of 2019 writing at a pace of 1790 words per day. I would like to eventually get to around 2K words per day, but I'm not sure I can keep up that pace. Should I set my daily goal to be more realistic and only look out one quarter at a time? Also, when tracking revisions, do you just set a number of pages goal, or do you keep the word count goal and just use a conversion rate (e.g. 300-350 words per page)? Curious to learn how others do this! Thanks, and I hope all of us have an amazing 2020.
I always recommend setting achievable word count goals and then some days you'll blow past it. it's a marathon, so setting a sprinter's pace can burn you out over time. sustainable is way more important than fast!
I don't think I realized how often I say "hell yeah" but I really do. Even in person now that I think about it. Anyhow, y'all are doing such cool shit so everyone gets a rousing "hell yeah" from me.
I'm working on a very queer horror MS that focuses on white supremacy in the Pacific Northwest and the working conditions of video game development, but I'm scared out of my mind that if I go forward with it I'll attract Gamergate attention. I can't get this story out of my head, and I know I'm going to write it, but it still terrifies me. Isn't that what effective horror is, though?
I love the concept. Yeah, you might get some fash on your feed and ex-gamergaters. Sadly harassment is such a part of the landscape these days, especially if you're afab on the internet. That said, never let the haters stop you from doing the work. Be safe, out there, but don't be silent.
if you get Gamergate attention, you'll also get the attention of plenty of other people who think the idea is brilliant and love what it stands for. It's rarely just one, thankfully. I think you should go ahead with your story!
This is such a good idea!!!
Thank you! There's an homage to Silent Hill PT and a resort town that fell into the sea, so I'm stoked for the concepts and just need to gird my wobbly loins.
I want 2020 to be the year I no longer let publishing make me feel bad about my age or what stage of my career I'm in. I want to remember that the only expiration date on writing is death. I want to make some art.
make. art. 2020. I love this. writing is a form that rewards age and experience over youth. I know writers who sold their debut once their kid went off to college. I know writers who didn't start putting pen to page until their 40s. there's no expiration date. except death, of course, as you already observed!
As an older writer, this really resonates with me! Thank you!
In October 2019, I set myself a goal of writing 250 words every day. Since starting that habit, I've found it easier to make incremental progress on my first draft without feeling overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task. For 2020, I want to continue this goal (with obvious breaks for holidays and vacations).
as I've written about a couple times, I really strongly believe in a practice. aim to do the thing, in this case, write a little every day, but remember to be kind to yourself if you slip. don't let a day, a week, or even a month of failing to meet your goal stop you from trying again tomorrow. failure is okay. focus on the next step, not yesterday's stumble.
this is a really good goal, I might do this too, since sitting down and thinking "I'm going to write chapter X today" is often really daunting, and it feels bad when you don't get it done. Thank you!
I really recommend it. It can feel daunting to get started, but if I know I only have to write 250 words, I feel like I can get started. Then of course, sometimes I have a good idea and I write more than 250 words, but on bad days, I still feel like I have made progress.
Goal: complete and revise current YA Horror MS and query the hell out of it.
Stuck on too much mental energy getting wrapped up in my day job drama.
Question: I've been working on getting published for almost a decade, just wrapping up my fifth manuscript, really don't want to be in the "working on getting published" boat a decade from now...help?
you're on the path and this is an industry that requires a great deal of patience. I know it feels interminable but the thing you're looking for might be here tomorrow, or next year, or the year after that. build your network. keep writing. keep editing. you got this.
I feel your pain. I’ve been working for about the same amount of time while juggling a day job, family, etc, and I’m trying to remain optimistic. It’s hard. You’ll get there—we both will. Just keep plugging away. When I feel like giving up, I try to remember what I always tell my son: “finish what you start.” I’m not finished yet. Neither are you. :)
I like this quote from Winston Churchhill: "Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” I try to remember that with every short story rejection I get.
This year I'd love to edit and query my novel. Ideally I'd be represented by someone by the end of this year, that would be awesome. And write a few short stories inbetween.
hell yeah! I hope you find that person who will champion that work! These are great goals and well within your grasp.
Goal: Fall in love with writing again. Querying 3 different projects for 2 years in a row has really done a number on how I feel about my own craft, so 2020 is a year of rekindling that love.
Kind of stuck on the idea that if I step away, I will be "behind" and miss out on agents and opportunities or a really good MSWL call, but yeah. Need to recover a lot of that love.
there's no "behind." there's no schedule or timeline. there's just writing the thing you want to write and then taking your shot. put aside your professional goals until it's time to query and publish. find your love of writing by focusing only on that. tell a good story. tell one that's true.
oh, and read a bunch of stuff. loving reading will help you love writing again.
"loving reading will help you love writing again." Well said!
I'm fifteen years and I just finished writing the first draft of my urban fantasy thriller with plenty of action. My aunt who is a freelance editor is copy editing it! So I would love to get representation by an agent and hopefully sell he novel to a publisher, this year!
hell yeah! that's incredible! good luck!
(also pay your aunt. even if it's just in six months of cookies. people deserve to be rewarded for their labor. even family members.)
I'll definitely see to that! :)
I'm writing proposals for two books I'd love to write, and hopefully I will find out which of these books I will work on first as a result. Right now I can't bring myself to add manuscript words to either of these stories, because I don't know which one to invest in. I feel so weird not being obsessed with a book, but what if I pick the wrong one? I'll be all messed up.
both are right choices! give yourself permission to change your mind. write a thousand words of each. write five thousand, even ten. then step back for a few days and come back and ask yourself which one do you love. then ask others. get your agent on the line, your friends, see what they love. not what they think is marketable, what they *love*
But what if there isn't a wrong choice?
When time is finite, it's hard to decide where to throw your energy. Option paralysis is real and terrible, but maybe look at it from the angle that words cut are worth more than words that never make it on the page. If you're interested in both, it might be worth throwing words at both projects and letting them make the decision for you.
Something I've done in the past is sign up for a pitch session at a local writing conference. Instead of pitching a completed book, I take the two books I'm thinking of starting and pitch these. Not that one agent speaks for the whole publishing industry, but the feedback I get on two potential projects usually helps me decide which to pursue first.
In 2020 my goal is to read more. I read a lot a lot a lot in 2017 & 2018, but 2019 hit me hard on the reading/writing front for reasons & I am looking forward to getting back into my reading flow this year. Because for me, reading begets writing & solves a lot of my writing hurdles. Right now I'm struggling with an issue of: "Is this long form project a novel or a novella???" So I'm hoping that by reading a few more novels & novellas in the beginning of 2020, I can answer that question myself.
read more is one of the best ways to fix a writing problem! but as for novel/novella, I say keep writing and see where your excitement leads you!
I decided to make a writing goal I'm entirely in control of: working on writing for 400 hours. I'm working on a lower YA contemporary that needs a bit more marinating before I can finish the draft. I should be able to finish, revise, and start something else.
I love an hour count over a word count! spend the time, don't stress about the output. that's great and more people should do that. also, very in favor of setting achievable goals. if you blow through it, then set a new one. but either way, you'll make it happen.
I have so many directions my writing life *could* go this year, depending on if the book I'm querying gets agented, and if so, what direction we plan for future books. I can't control any of that. But I can control how much work I put in. Plus, I had that goal with 365 writing hours in 2019, and I ended up going from first draft to polished book faster than ever simply by focusing on hours. I love this new method of working. I think it's gonna stick.
Stuck on novel structure--about 50-60 pages into a new project and starting to feel at a loss about the best way to incorporate interlocking POVs and storylines. Advice or ideas appreciated!
structure is so hard, but also so easy. think about tension. think about in each separate POV arc, where the tension is strongest and where it's flagging. why save the cat works at all is it has a laser focus on this. I think the strategies it employs are cheap tricks and rely too much on senseless action. but the concept is sound. in each arc, are you moving from stakes to consequence with each beat. then, alternate those beats in a way that builds a rhythm and tension to a breaking point. see? easy.
(also, really really hard)
I started out my writing apprenticeship in screenwriting school and Save The Cat was of course our bible. Once I made the switch to novel-writing, I found structure one of the easier (though of course not easy!) elements to get my head around because of my Save The Cat days. I spent weeks modifying Save The Cat to work for a novel and recently found out that someone did a much better job than me and published it - HIGHLY recommend Save The Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody, best of luck with your WIP, Lilah, you got this💪🏾
Story structure has been my undoing for years. I would get lots of full manuscript requests, but no takers. Before starting my current MS I reviewed my correspondence with agents and discovered that structure was the common theme in why I wasn't getting picked up. I've read and studied a lot on structure over the past 2 years. I don't like super didactic structuring like Save The Cat. For what it's worth, I've found a wonderful system that finally makes my writing feel "tightly plotted" without making me feel bound to some formula. It's Dan Harmon's Story Circles and I can't recommend it enough. You can find lots of Youtube Videos about it. I think regardless of your structural woes, it's a structuring system that is effective enough to keep you on track, and flexible enough to fit any story. I combine it with the basic premises of John Truby's work on story structure. Best of luck!
I had this same problem a year ago. What I did was create a grid using the Seven Plot Point Structure going down the rows, and characters and story elements (love story, addiction cycle, grief cycle, ...) going across the columns. I filled in each column one at a time and then mapped each cell to a chapter or scene (sometimes combining two cells). It really helped me, and I hope it helps you. Best of luck!
what helps for me is figuring out what the separate storylines are going to be, or why I'm using specific POVs, and then when i have that, plotting the story as a whole to see what makes sense
won't work for everybody, I know, but I hope it's at least partially useful to you! :)
Revising a steampunk reverse colonialism MS for pitching in the summer. No idea if anyone would buy that sorta thing, but I won’t know unless I put it out there. Good luck to all the other people about to dive into pitches!
good luck! steampunk heartily needs more post-colonial disruption!
This year I'm going back to trying to write every day, even if it's just a few words or for only a couple minutes. I just want to write every single day. I'm working on a novel idea that I, atypically, have planned out all the way to the end. The thing I struggle with is turning off editor brain and just moving the writing forward. Any tips for getting out of your own way so you can make the words happen?
booze. no, that is 100% a joke and please don’t do that.
I think learning to be bad at things is one of the hardest and most important aspect of getting good at things. For me, when starting out on a creative project I deliberately go “lol this is bad” but resolve to keep making it so the next thing will be less bad. Embrace the badness of what you’re working on and you’ll find, later, that it’s actually great.
I just finished two straight months of writing a poem a day, so I’m switching gears. In January and February, I’m participating in a workshop, so I’ll be writing some new poems but mostly getting better at editing. March will be a submission month, and April will be back to writing. Focusing month by month on one thing seems to be doable. By next year, I’d like to have a draft of a chapbook (which I can control) and ideally a few more pub credits under my belt (which I can’t control, but I can sub more).
I love that you have a plan. congrats on the two months of a poem a day! that is wild and I hope you have some great material to start editing!
Thank you! I’m feeling pretty confident and excited.
I'm going to finish my WIP manuscript (because I always always always finish what I start) and then i) seriously consider self-publishing; and ii) start looking at an alternative career to writing. I've been working a part-time consultancy job for the past four years so I can have the time to write. I've written nearly every day of those four years, and I've had way too many editors and agents tell me they liked my writing but they're just not enthusiastic enough about it/there isn't a big enough market for it. I'm sick of being told that I have a long career ahead of me, when in reality I'm just emotionally and physically exhausted with nothing to show for it. I'm very proud of the work I've produced in the last four years, and I consider myself very lucky to be afforded the time and financial stability to complete my passion projects. And even if no one outside of my beta readers ends up reading my stuff, at least I will always have these books written to sate my very specific tastes. But it's time to turn a new page.
that's really hard and I'm sorry you've been having a rough time with it. I'm not going to tell you you're guaranteed you're going to get the career you wanted, but I'm glad you're still writing and it sounds like committed to keep writing. even if its at a reduced pace as you pick up more non-writing work. that's the thing that keeps possibility open.
also, I'd say, there's a lot of reasons to write that aren't about sales and money and sometimes focusing on those can make it easier to get the sales and money, ironically.
whatever you decide, good luck to you. I'm glad you find joy in your work and the readers who get to read it.
The back half of 2019 was losing a job, getting a new job, and losing any and all steam on current projects; a lot of my creative energy was diverted into running DnD games, (which I love and have no problem with), but I couldn't find any new energy for current projects. I lost interest in a novel as I was halfway through its fourth draft, and couldn't find the mindset to go into short story revisions. The only thing I actually made decent headway on was a new novel project that I just . . . didn't outline and still am not outlining and for some weird, blessed reason, is moving ahead with an energy and fervency it really shouldn't have for something I'm just freakin' winging. So I'm not going to question it, and use it as a springboard into 2020.
So, the goals are:
*Finish Chaotic-Energy-No-Outline-No-Problem Book (just hit the halfway point!)
*Use that energy to go and edit/rewrite 2-4 short stories that need some love, and get to submitting those
*Edit and revise CENONP novel, and start submitting to agents
*Hopefully sign with an agent this year!
*Also, at some point in there, launch my crowdsourced narrative fiction newsletter???
This feels like a lot, especially after the year 2019 was, but I'm feeling good about it! Here's hoping. Good luck, everyone!
Marty - you've had so much going on! It's okay if that means some long term stuff got back burnered. find your footing in your life, a roof over your head, relaxation with friends, and a clear head are all essential foundations for doing good work. you're gonna have a great year.
Ah, thanks so much, DongWon! Your support and kind words are very much appreciated, and a good reminder that the work done in the back half of 2019 is now a foundation for the work to come. I've got a good feeling about this year =]
I'm finishing the last round of edits on my first novel and aiming to draft my second novel. Also for real terrified because I'm diving into the query trenches for the first time.
good luck! it's stressful but there's only one way to learn and one way to take that next step!
This year I have 3 short stories, 4 novellas, and 5 novels scheduled. I'm currently on the first short, outlining one novel, and one novella. Not stuck...fearless. Just need an extra day a week lol.
uhhhhhhh that's a LOT! but if you can do it, then that's fantastic! get to work, you've only got 362 days left!
Yes it is! It will get done!
I'm working on a novel I hope to have finished before 4th Street in June. More than that I've set a (realistic for me) goal of 150k new words this year. Also planning to rework a previous short story to send on another round of submissions.
150k is a great goal! to anyone else who saw that and had a heart attack, everyone has their own pace. I work with writers who regularly put out 400-500k a year. I work with people who struggle to break 50k. both are success strategies. 150? sounds like a reasonable doable goal. draft til june. edit til fall. I like this plan.
I've got a new draft of the book I've been working on for years -- after putting it in a drawer for 18 mths, learning the hard way from submitting it too soon, I think it's in good shape and will be even better after I finish this round of edits, but I'm terrified of submitting it anywhere again. Terrified and excited, both.
I love hearing that you're learning to be patient. line up your shot. edit that manuscript. make some connections with folks. it's a scary process, but be forewarned, forearmed, and then take your shot.
I'm very close to querying my next book and I have all the excited and nervous feels that comes with that. There's a weird amount of happiness that comes with being on the cusp of sending your baby out, when hope is still alive and anything can happen. Granted, I'm also gearing up for that crying-on-the-floor aspect that happens when the rejections start coming in.
As soon as I start querying, I'm going to start the next book. I've got the itch to write something new. So, this year: query the last book, start and finish next book, and hopefully begin one more after that and make a discernible dent in it.
this is an excellent plan! I like it. submit, but keep working. that’s the ticket.
I have a huge story idea I've been sitting on for about 5 years. It's very much sci fi whereas everything else I've written to date is fantasy with a folklore-ish flair. Basically, I'm intimidating the hell out of myself. I know I need to go for it, because what good is safe writing? Yet still I'm stalling a bit, and also feeling defeated due to rejections on another project, and I'm doubting myself yet also excited? I don't know. I feel crazy. Advice?
it’s all the same skillset! story matters more than window dressing and you know how to do story! don’t be afraid of using [tk] for any science-y stuff or technology stuff you haven’t done the worldbuilding for yet. backfill once you have the framework of the story and see how to integrate the SFnal components at that point. but most importantly, remember that you know how to do this already!
Thank you :)
last year (how bizarre), i quit my job moved internationally and was completely swamped emotionally and mentally with my new job as much as i love love the work. as a result, i didn’t get to write much and burned out in august which ended up being the best thing, because i began therapy. i was in such a bad place with myself as a result of years of trauma processing that i didn’t know how to write what i needed to write anymore. but on the 1st of this year after months of therapy i began revising the end of this book and i burst into tears at the thought i could write hope. that’s my goal for 2020, to finish it and to make this book as good as i can now, in this better place. my fear is that i can’t, that i’ll always be in this state of almost. we just, i suppose, have to be a little kinder to ourselves. happy new year, y’all.
that's an amazing story and I'm really glad you got there. I'm sorry you had to go through the journey you did, but burnout can be really great for the reasons you describe. I'm glad you're in therapy and it's working for you. good luck with the book!
For 2020, I am aiming to treat my WIP as a project with a timeline (I do project management in my dayjob), and I have a new angle I'm working on in revisions with my critique partner.
I just haven't been able to write consistently since October, so instead I read a lot of new publications in my genre and this has helped a lot so I'm excited and ready to get this new draft done by March 31st! I have to build structure with weekly, biweekly, monthly goals rather than daily goals. It seems to be working so far.
glad it's going well! just remember to keep in mind all your project management tools for when a project falls off schedule too! I hope it doesn't, but a big amorphous project like a novel is likely to test the whole toolkit.
You know most of these. But: working on the locked-room architecture murder novella and the cyberpunk climate change arson book, and probably bits of Teixcalaan #3.
what I'm scared of is being -- deep enough in, to do justice to what I want PRESCRIBED BURN to be; it's not a question of research, exactly, but one of feeling like I don't have the same depth of metaphor-set, interconnected knowledge, allusive ability that I do/did with Teixcalaan. How do I write without writing about empire, when I've been writing about empire my whole career as a writer?
also how do I do time management and/or develop anything like a system or process, but the first one is what actually scares me.
scared is good! if you're not scared of the book you're writing, you probably need to sit back and ask yourself if you're writing about the right thing.
time management is hard. but you've had a lot of life disruption recently, so give yourself permission to go slow while you adjust. new town, new job, new book. all things that take time. you'll get it.
Mainly, I'm working on getting a literary agent for my sci-fi novel, Jupiter Base. Second on the list is getting one of my screenplays, an Austin Film Festival second rounder, to be a finalist this year.
good luck! it sounds like an exciting time for you!
Just swooping in here to say thank you, DongWon, you are full of such great advice and give the best pep talks. I’m so grateful for all the publishing paying-it-forward that you and Kate do 🖤
I love doing this and I'm glad y'all take something from it!
Hey! Awesome question. I *was* stuck until recently but after some really big breakthroughs am soaring through a YA fantasy called "The Bottomless Forest". Biggest resolution(s)? 1 - not tell ANYBODY about the plot/characters/anything until I'm finished and 2 - keep up my breakneck pace on 1st draft to avoid losing momentum. Both are big personal pitfalls. So far, I can't stop thinking about the story... a good sign.
What are YOUR goals in 2020?
that IS a good sign! I'm glad to hear you're having such a good time with it. keep going!
My goal this year (as it has been the last couple years) is to finish the novel I'm working on. The main hurdle has been finding the time and energy to do so, as my job is fairly demanding and by the end of the day I don't even wanna think about sitting at a computer any more than I already have. But I'm using my PTO in a few weeks to take a week off so I can just focus on writing for at least a week (and hopefully the weekends on either side of that week), so hopefully I can actually be not-totally-burned-out and write something for once. Fingers crossed!
staycation writing retreat is great! hope you get the words out that you need, but don't forget that more hours doesn't always equal more words. your brain needs to recharge, your subconscious needs to process. it's okay to go slow, even when you have the mental space to focus. a good start will help you get where you want to go.
Thanks for the wise words :)
I’m really proud of all the work I did in 2019 to improve my writing and almost entirely shifted my writing approach. I’ve started to feel like I can see my own writing voice forming, and this year my goal is to take that seriously by making more space to commit to my writing! I have one novel I started this time last year that is approaching completion and I want to start querying it by 2021. But most importantly I want to do what someone else has already mentioned below (above?): make time for just a little bit of writing every day.
hell yeah that's awesome. starting to recognize what your voice is is such a huge step. like Dolly Parton says "figure out who you are and then do it on purpose."
... I just love her so much.
Goal: I've been working out one particular story in my mind *for years* that just keeps growing and weaving in on itself. If I don't end it now, it may reach critical mass and take up residence there forever, burrowing in and consuming me until I'm a dry, papery Robin-husk stretched unconvincingly around a now-sentient-and-frustrated untold story. My goal is to finally have a REAL written outline (if not a first really ugly draft!) of the whole trilogy by the end of the year.
Afraid of: Sending it out and not securing an agent, or worse, signing with a not-good agent!
Q: What are your thoughts on signing with an associate agent vs a (regular? full?) agent, and is the difference between an associate and a full agent simply time/experience?
Is it expected/normal for a fledgling author to pair with an associate agent with the assumption that their careers will mature in tandem?
the key to understand is that you're already a hollowed out husk surrounding your story, because the story is already in you, is of you, is inseparable from you. embrace the story as part of your embodiment and let it revitalize you and restore you and then write the truth of it that's in your heart.
anyhow, on to practicalities. yes, the differences are mostly time/experience. but also remember that a full agent with a rich list might have even less time for a new author than a junior agent with one or two clients. and also, experience is important, but a younger, passionate agent might see opportunities that an older agent wouldn't. and, ideally, that junior agent can rely on their bosses and colleagues for advice and strategy. look more to culture at an agency and rely more on your instincts about a person than a job title.
a new author is not expected to pair with a new agent, although that can often happen. lots of intensely powerful partnerships between agent and author can come out of those early days and it's exciting to watch it happen.
I'm diving into a fairly big revision on what I hope will be my next book, and mentally starting to give room to the next two ideas. I'm expanding into new categories this year (both in what I'm creating and what I'm releasing) and that's a neat feeling. I wanted to diversify not just for income/stability reasons but because I feel that one of the things that I love most about writing is trying new things and learning how to write differently. Different forms and categories let me do that. Writing feels more creative and playful and breathtaking now than it has since before I was published. I feel more hopeful now than I've felt in a long time about my career, so that's a really good feeling. But I'm also very, very hesitant to let myself feel that much optimism given the last few years and struggles. Careful balance of optimistic enough to create, pragmatic enough to know that I'll get mired in new shit eventually. I don't have any daily word count goals except when I'm drafting so I'm holding off on those until February!
that's so great to hear. I think diversifying is important for many, if not most, writers! try new stuff -- whether that's genre, or style, or pov or whatever. it's good for your skills, it's good for your career!
I just want to finish something. Anything. I'm constantly starting projects but never seeing them through to completion. In the past I've been terrified that I won't "make it" and I'll be stuck in my crappy min-wage job forever, and it makes me timid when it comes to breaking out and really leaning into my writing. But I can't afford to let fear and complacency rule me-- for practical and mental health reasons. It's time. 2020, look out.
hell yeah! you can do this, easy. focus on the project you love. put the rest in a drawer. you're going to get to them. you're gonna do it. but do it in sequence, one step at a time.
I'm afraid of being rejected in queer speculative fiction writing for being too cis white male, so I guess I'm trying to come to terms with my own potential 'will to power', need to find a way of writing that won't feel like a way of colonialising yet another field of writing. That might sound megalomaniac, but I guess I'm also trying to find a way of talking about this that feels authentic and reflective of the sort of white privilege that made me stop read speculative fiction. Just eternal re-spins of the same old Asimovs, Clarkes and Herberts.
remember to center the narratives of the people the story belongs to. do your homework. step lightly and step carefully. get sensitivity readers. and be ready to ask yourself if you're doing more harm than good by putting this in the world.
but, the thing you want to do is doable and isn't as hard as you think it is. be a good ally. be empathetic. be kind. put others' experiences first.
I had some of the same concerns about my fantasy novel when I realized that one of my POV characters was gay. I've reached out to my friends in the gay community for help and got pretty good feedback (and two beta readers). I've tried to narrow my focus to the person and the fantasy culture that they live in (and people's prejudices and biases), and to remember that "love" is "love" no matter who you are, or who you love.
Hi! I set up this account so I can respond to this. So, I understand this hesitance. I feel it a lot myself, and I'm a white woman, though sapphic. I think the reason is that, maybe because of social media, it often feels like we can't make a mistake or be labelled as not being a good ally when we don't 100% agree with someone. Then we're hounded for it. And a lot of people end up feeling worse overall.
Some may disagree, but I look at it like this: As long as you mean well, don't let fear stop you into telling a specific story. Even -- and again, some may disagree - imperfect representation is better than nothing. And as DongWon said, do your research, put their experiences first, etc.
Let's look at two examples. The first is Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett. So, RJB is a white dude, but Sancia, the main character, is a dark-skinned sapphic woman who is ready to embark in a relationship with another woman by the end of the book. I CANNOT WAIT for Shorefall, the sequel, coming out in April. And I'm most looking forward to Sancia and Berenice's relationship. (Foundryside was so good!!! Read it!!!!)
Then there's the Legend of Korra, a TV shows. It's about this brown-skinned sapphic woman who develops feelings for her female best friend. Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko are both white guys like you and RJB, and though they couldn't depict Korra's relationship as fully as they wanted (network wouldn't let them), they took it as far as it could go. It was an imperfect story in this way, but so many people grateful for it.
And who knows. Even if your depiction isn't perfect, maybe someone who isn't like you, who may be a person of the kind you're writing about, reads your novel and gets inspired to right their own thing, producing a huge net benefit. That's what LoK is doing for me as I'm nearing the end of my book's first draft.
My first goal is to finish the rewrite of my fantasy novel (with a touch of steampunk), and my second goal is to write my first full-length comic! I'll probably set up more writing goals throughout the year.
hell yeah, these are huge great goals. go easy on yourself, focus on the goals you have before adding more. take a step, find your balance, then take the next one. don't rush.
thank you! I definitely need to focus on the goals I have now first and foremost, and that's what I'll try to do!
I have taken a minimalist approach and have one writing goal for 2020: finish the draft of a book I started in 2019 (and naively thought I could finish during NaNoWriMo). I'm dedicating every spare moment to this.
-Anjuan
this sounds fantastic. I love this. finish that book. do the thing. you got this.
Hi DongWon! This thread is great, It's really nice to read other people's thoughts and your answers. Thanks for taking the time to read and reply to all the comments.
Stuck and afraid because the economical situation in my country is rapidly declining and the future seems so uncertain right now. More than ever, if I decided to dedicate my time to write, writing in english rather than in my native language seems more profitable. But there's always the classical doubts: is my english good enough? will my stories be well received in the english speaking market?
But while I can't shake those fears away, I'm determinated to start 2020 with courage. I decided to try and do all my writing in english this year. I'm working on a new WIP, while thinking on ways to restructure my first finished manuscript to really highlight the core of the story.
I have only one actual question, both to you and to the other readers: do you know any books that mixed first and third person POVs? I'm thinking on doing something like that, and I'd like to see how others writers have done it.
tbh, until you said english wasn’t your first language I thought we lived in the same country! anyhow, bleak forecasts aside, yes writing in english is sadly a more commercially viable prospect. depending on your market, there are often strong local publishing options, but starting from english opens up more opportunities for translation into other markets, film adaptation, etc. it’s no guarantee either way.
as for the anxieties of writing in a second language — I’d say (with no experience) that writing is always hard and always takes work. a different cadence, story structure, or imagery can be as much an appeal as a hindrance. The Witcher, for example, I think is succeeding in part in how different and weird polish mythology feels to an american audience. lean in to the elements that make your perspective and story distinct and worry less about the reception until it comes time to pitch.
Finishing a surreal, victorian, witches-fighting-the-patriarchy novel, planning to apply to Clarion West for the first time, and writing without worrying about what publishing folks think about this or that concept. Having more fun than I have in years.
sounds fun as hell! good luck with it and with CW!
Honestly, I think I'm just terrified of rejection, of spending years and years submitting and never getting anywhere, of "aging out" (I know it's not a thing but when are fears ever logical), all that stuff. And all that said, my goal is just not to let the fear stop me. I've gotten into pretty good habits at doing a little bit on a few projects each day, getting organized, taking next steps instead of staying permanently on the steps that are most comfortable and safe. I just have to not let the fear stop me. (Or the inevitable post-rejection "omg they hate me I'm terrible" phase.)
that’s the trick! you’re going to get rejected. there’s no way around it. you’re going to get rejected and get rejected a lot. it always sucks, but it’s not the end of the road for you and there’s always the next person. the agent or editor or reader who is going to say yes and be excited about your work. it’s hard but the only way to figure out how to survive it is to dive in and embrace the fear and embrace the rejection. you can do this.
I can do this! And if I keep telling myself that, I will believe it more often than not!
I do have more confidence in myself than I sound like. I just started gathering prep information on agents and it's making me nervous. Or more accurately, I have confidence in my ability to figure out a method of submitting things that's best for me literarily, logistically, and emotionally. I'm just not sure what that is yet. It's a work in progress.
Thank you for the encouragement!
Question for DongWon and everyone else on the thread. Can anyone recommend a really stellar freelance developmental editor who works on YA science fiction (mine is non-dystopian)?
yep! Ryan Boyd (https://reedsy.com/ryan-boyd) is a fantastic freelancer. Or if you want an absolute boss hugo award winning editor, Navah Wolfe is currently taking freelance work. Both might be booked up, but always worth an ask.
If Ryan and Navah aren't available, try Vivian Shaw (vivian.t.shaw@gmail.com) -- disclaimer, I'm married to her, but she's worked for Amanda Downum, amongst others (including me!) -- and has published three novels of her own with Orbit Books.
I heartily second this endorsement!!
I am finished with my first novel and querying it, but also editing too. At the same time, I have also started a new YA novel, not a sequel, which I am really really in love with. (So that makes me want to work on my new project.) What do writers do in this situation? Do they do both at the same time? Regardless, I want to have at least 80,000 words by this time next year on my new project, but I am itching to focus solely on the writing. When does anyone say enough, move on? It's hard.
nah, this is perfect. having another project in the can by the time your first gets through the query rounds (whether it gets you an agent or not) is ideal. that way, you either have a new thing to query or you have another project on deck to sub or pitch once you sell the first one. use the lengthy query process to get the jump on your next career step.
Like the past two years, my goal is to finish this manuscript. After a complete tear-down and rewrite, I am better equipped this time around, although writing the end of it does scare me. I also have a short story I'm polishing that I think might be good enough to actually submit for publication.
hell yeah! good luck on both!
I do great for awhile and then I just stop. Something will happen in life to distract me and it can take forever to get back to writing. I’ll think about it for weeks and not do it. It drives me crazy and I don’t know why I do it. I’m almost finished with my first book but I can’t seem to kick my butt into gear. It’s frustrating and stupid 🙄
for me, when I get blocked on a project, I find that I can fall into a self-recrimination loop. I get mad that I'm behind so then I resent the project so it falls farther behind, and so on. instead, think about ways to be gentler with yourself. remember taking breaks is work. you can't muscle through a book. you have to let your brain recharge and when you don't have capacity because life is getting in the way, you won't be doing your best work. accept these pauses as part of the process and pick up where you left off and keep going! just keep writing. any progress is progress.
Thank you
I think out of all the questions and responses, Suzun, I really liked yours. You have some wonderful honesty and voice. If I could share what motivates me... let your characters tell you what to do. So many of us think that it's all about us as writers? don't put that much pressure on yourself-- let your characters tell the rest of your story. You are just the conduit for your characters to speak to you. Allow them to guide you the rest of the way.
Oddly enough that’s actually how I write. When I’m in writing mode they are constantly doing things in my head. I go to the store, they’re still arguing about who’s up next. I stop when they’re silent. That makes me sound a little crazy eh? 🤔
I just finished a short story that I love and will be submitting it for publication in 2020! First time submitting so I'm nervous yet I really feel it is my best work so I'm excited too.
Got a novel I'm still chugging along on and will finish before the year is out.
2020 is going to be great :)
woo congrats! good luck on the sub!
I’ve gone through long periods (sometimes months, even up to a year) since 2012 of not writing, but I have written more this past year than ever before! 5 short stories, 1 intro chapter for a near future cyber-thriller and finally made it halfway through my alternate-steam-western adventure novel draft (40k words). My goal for this year is to finally finish my alt-steam-western novel, and maybe write a short story good enough to be published.
hell yeah! so glad to hear you found your groove last year. hope that keeps up through the year. if it doesn't, remember to go easy on yourself. rest and recharge is important to write the good words. take breaks, it's okay to pause before starting the work again.
My 2020 goal is to master how to do deep structural edits in small windows of time *and* keep track of the narative.
tricky! I recommend index cards!
Re-writing my local urban fantasy novel. I've done revisions before, but this is the first time I'm deep diving into rewriting and consistently re-doing entire scenes. I'm trying to stay positive and remind myself as long as it's better than it was before, it's worth it - but I'm also adjusting to a new job and not making quite as much progress as I'd like.
incremental progress is progress and progress is what matters. you're doing the work and that's great. even if it's slow. give yourself permission to take as long as it takes and remind yourself it's a process.
Goals: Read 25 new books! Complete a new MG fantasy to query this fall, and query my adult UF this spring. In 2019, I queried a sci fi MG and received several full requests, so I believe I'm close-ish to representation. Stuck and afraid on whether to trunk these passed over projects or take them indie while I continue seeking rep.
that's fantastic! good luck on the query process!
trust your instincts when it comes to trunk/publish. why do you want to publish? what's your goal? if it's to make money, what's your path to success? if it's to say that you did publish, interrogate what you really want. keep your eye on your actual goal and make sure that's what you're putting your time and energy into.
I ended the last two months of 2019 writing at a pace of 1790 words per day. I would like to eventually get to around 2K words per day, but I'm not sure I can keep up that pace. Should I set my daily goal to be more realistic and only look out one quarter at a time? Also, when tracking revisions, do you just set a number of pages goal, or do you keep the word count goal and just use a conversion rate (e.g. 300-350 words per page)? Curious to learn how others do this! Thanks, and I hope all of us have an amazing 2020.
I always recommend setting achievable word count goals and then some days you'll blow past it. it's a marathon, so setting a sprinter's pace can burn you out over time. sustainable is way more important than fast!
Thanks, DongWon. That makes sense.