Tag: noveling

Afraid to Write

~ K ~ 1 Comment

I’m working on a story about parapsychology. Parapsychology includes paranormal phenomena such as telekinesis, telepathy, and clairvoyance. This is a huge stretch for me because I’ve never written anything remotely sci-fi or fantasy before. I’m scared.

Yes, I’m afraid to write.

I’m afraid that the story will tumble out horribly. That it won’t be realistic (ah duh, sci-fi is not), that it won’t be entertaining… that it simply won’t be good. I’ve got a ticker on the sidebar to keep track of my progress. Instead of writing this post, I should be writing in my novel.

But I think I’ll read instead.

The Comfort Zone

~ K ~ Leave a comment

I don’t like to travel outside of my comfort zone. But then again, who does? A devotional I read titled Jesus Calling spoke to me on this issue on December 9:

Be willing to go out on a limb with Me. If that is where I am leading you, it is the safest place to be. Your desire to live a risk-free life is a form of unbelief. … In order to follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your tendency to play it safe.

For me, going out on a limb means pursuing publication of my finished novel. If you don’t know, here’s a basic outline of how traditional publication for novelists works:

  1. Author writes first draft of novel
  2. Author revises novel
  3. Author completes revisions of novel thereby producing a “finished product”
  4. Author queries one agent at a time for representation before a publisher
  5. One agent chooses to represent author based on submitted work
  6. Agent shops novel to different publishers for publication
  7. One publisher selects author’s work for publication
  8. Author’s work may undergo several more revisions
  9. Publisher decides to go ahead with publication
  10. Agent and author both get paid

I know I will be rejected by many agents, and who wants to wade into a sea of rejections? But sending these queries is outside of my comfort zone, a place I am all too happy to reside. I plan on getting an editor to look at manuscript on a developmental level: what works within my novel and what doesn’t in the hopes I can strengthen my novel. As I pursue publication, I’ll keep you up to date on all my rejections, partial rejections (“It’s good, but…), or possible acceptance!

Writing a Novel in 30 (or 31) Days

~ K ~ 3 Comments

In 2013, I hope to write a novel in 30 days—twice. Not only do I plan on participating in NaNoWriMo in November, but I also plan on writing a novel in 30 days in April. Here are the following tips I will apply to attempt this feat toward the beginning of the  year (and at the end):

  • Enlist community support. Tell friends and family about your goals. If possible, find a writing forum where you can have others help keep you accountable. Camp NaNoWriMo is also helpful way to write novels during the months of April and June.
  • Establish discipline. Nothing is more crucial to success than establishing discipline. Set a daily goal of x words per day, and determine to meet it. I will stick to the NaNoWriMo goal of 1,667 words per day.
  • Set benchmarks. This word widget can help you to establish benchmarks of 10 percent, 20 percent, and so on: http://wordmeter.herokuapp.com/picometer/words=0&target=50000. You can adjust the target to suit your goal and change the number of words from 0 to whatever total amount you have written. (Or you can utilize http://www.critiquecircle.com/wordmeterbuilder.asp.)
  • Discover good writing music. I listen to classical music when I write. I can’t listen to anything with words lest I begin typing the lyrics in my novel. But if listening to nothing but the sound of traffic outside of your window is best, go for that.
  • Have a rough outline of your story. You may not know exactly what your story will consist of—Who does? Sometimes characters surprise us!—but a rough outline can help you stay on track with the general goal of your hero coming out on top.

It is possible to write a novel in 30 days as long as you are dedicated and disciplined—two very difficult things to establish. But once they’ve been established, they pave the way for success.

There’s a place for my novel…

~ K ~ 4 Comments

… somewhere. But who will publish it? And who will read it?

The main protagonist is a 16-year-old girl. There’s no romance. Lots of conflict. I’m not Karen Kingsbury or Janette Oke and I’ll never be.

Maybe I should be if I’d like to get paid. Or maybe I should find another day job. In my idealistic world, I hope to impact someone’s life in getting this novel published. I’m not sure how that will happen. Or if it will. But I’d like for it to be someone unrelated to me.