It\u2019s that time of the week when I answer your anonymous questions about writing and all that stuff connected to it. Every Thursday, I\u2019ll be answering two questions from the Big Damn Writer Question Box.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Q:\u00a0When you’re writing a story or a book, do you always start at the beginning and work through in order to the end? Or do you ever have a flash of inspiration for a scene that you feel like you need to write out ASAP with the hopes you’ll find a spot for it later on? Similarity, what advice do you have for writers who have written a really fun, exciting, or funny scene but then find that the scene isn’t really working or doing much for the book? Ruthlesslessy cut it and hope it might work in a different story? Try to make it fit in a different spot in the story? Try to edit it until it does work? Change the surrounding scenes and story to work better with the scene?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n A:\u00a0<\/strong>I start with a loose outline and write to about the halfway point of the book, then revisit my outline, see what works and what I’m not going to have time for, and keep writing. I generally write straight through, beginning to end, but if I do get a flash of inspiration or something I will go ahead and write that part down. I also tend to skip over sex scenes until I’m finished with the section of the book it’s in. I have definitely written scenes that didn’t end up in books because they didn’t fit into the story and felt extraneous. Sometimes, those scenes happen in other books. For example, there was something that was supposed to happen to Sophie in\u00a0The Ex<\/em> that just didn’t happen. Then I started thinking about\u00a0Baby Makes Three<\/em> and realized, hey, that scene definitely works in that book. It was meant for Penny, not Sophie. I just got my wires crossed.<\/p>\n I would say that in general, no scene is so well-written or exciting that an entire book should be revised to make that scene fit. It just means the scene belongs in a different book.<\/p>\n Q:\u00a0How do you feel about NaNoWriMo or other write-a-novel-in-a-month\/super short time events? Do you think giving oneself that tight deadline and the necessity to write every day for a short period of time (like a month) is a good idea? I’m trying to decide if that’s something that could help me, or if I would get super anxious about not being able to write everyday or hit the word count by the end of the month. On the other hand, I’m a natural procrastinator, so maybe something like that would be beneficial. Do you have any experience with NaNoWriMo or having to write a book on a really tight deadline? Do you give yourself deadlines?<\/strong><\/p>\n A:\u00a0<\/strong>I am notoriously hard on NaNoWriMo, so let me say first that I do not judge anyone who uses NaNoWriMo as a tool to motivate themselves or a reason to sit down and write when they have difficulty doing so without that pressing deadline. We all do what we need to do with regards to how we work.<\/p>\n That said, I have some real issues with NaNoWriMo and I’m not a fan of it, personally. But since NaNo really took off, it has created communities and friendships that have helped foster thousands of new writers. That’s where it’s added real value to the writing world, on a scale that wasn’t possible before. So I think that part is fantastic, and if that’s something you need to keep yourself motivated, by all means, do it.<\/p>\n But if you’re afraid of deadlines giving you anxiety, then the focus on winning would probably put you off. Maybe start off slowly instead, with goals you set for yourself. There’s an app I really like called\u00a0Write Or Die<\/a><\/span>\u00a0that lets you set micro-deadlines. You can enter in the amount of time you want to write for and the word count you’re aiming for. Let’s say you want to write 500 words in a half hour. You choose the consequences or rewards you’d like (“Kamikaze Mode” is truly terrifying), start the timer, and go. I find that I can write a ton of words that way\u00a0and that I end up meeting my goal faster each time.<\/p>\n Another thing I encourage people to do is to set aside fifteen minutes a day and go, “Okay, for this fifteen minutes, I’m writing.” And that’s what you do. And even if you get nothing more than that fifteen minutes of writing done for that day, it doesn’t matter. You wrote. It feels a lot less hopeless when you can say, “I wrote today.”<\/p>\n Remember, too, that “write every day” doesn’t literally mean putting words on the paper. If you’re standing in the shower, mentally plotting out the next scene, but you don’t have time to sit down and write it until tomorrow, you still wrote today. A lot more goes into writing than just typing. Don’t beat yourself up if all you can do from, say, Monday through Friday is thinking about and mentally plan your story or scribble down some notes. You’re still writing every day, even if your word count only goes up on weekends or something.<\/p>\n I don’t generally give myself hard deadlines, just “this month I plan to have this done.” It relieves some of that “oh my god, time is running out!” anxiety.<\/p>\n Bonus Question:\u00a0<\/strong>Hi! Thanks so much for doing this, I’ve always wanted to ask how a person gets to be an editor? I’m trying to get into publishing but don’t really know what the best way to get in would be. Any advice?<\/strong><\/p>\n A:<\/strong> This is one I really don’t have a great answer for, but I’ll try. I don’t have any clue how you become an editor at a major publishing house. I edited for a small press. The way I got the job was that someone said, “Hey, this company is looking for editors.” I contacted them, and they sent me a test, which was basically a passage of text that needed a lot of work both developmentally and grammatically. I edited it, sent it back, it was up to their standards, they hired me.<\/p>\n Nowadays, pretty much anyone can set themselves up as a freelance editor because the rise of self-publishing created a demand. I know at least one person who freelanced for a hybrid author (traditionally published and self-published) who ended up liking their work so much, they told their traditional publisher they only wanted to work with that editor from now on. That editor ended up on the publishing house’s payroll.<\/p>\n None of this is helpful advice for breaking in, I’m sure, but hopefully, it’s given you some kind of idea. I’m not an editor anymore and things change so quickly that I don’t have much else in the way of practical knowledge.<\/p>\n No bonus question this week, as I\u2019m busy getting ready for my amazing U.P. writing retreat!<\/strong><\/p>\n Wanna see your questions get answered (or just wanna air a grievance?)\u00a0Put it in the box!<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s that time of the week when I answer your anonymous questions about writing and all that stuff connected to it. Every Thursday, I\u2019ll be<\/p>\n