Killing Your Darlings

I can't remember where I first heard the phrase, "Kill your darlings." It may have been at an RWA meeting, maybe in Stephen King's On Writing. Most likely, though, I probably just found it online somewhere and didn't really understand it until King's book. It's controversial, well-debated advice. Some people will tell you it means if you're stuck, cut the parts that you're attached to because you're probably favoring them too much. They'll say your darlings hold you back. Others will say it's advice to ignore. Why kill something that's good? It's okay to have darlings, they'll say.

After the week I've had, I have my own understanding of "Kill your darlings."

You're probably sick to death of this song, right?

It means, "Be able to let go." For whatever reason, you have to be able to let go, no matter how in love you are with it. Whether that means keeping something from the readers because there's no easy way to introduce it, or completely destroying a line, a character, a subplot, or even a plot. You have to be able to take the red pen to it.

Let go of the hilarious but out-of-character line, the unbelievable character trait, and the Deus Ex Machina Band-aid over the plothole. Continuity, character development, and believability are more important. If it gets in the way, let it go.
 
Let go of worldbuilding and backstory if you can't make it fit naturally into your story. Let go of the idea of showing off everything you've made, no matter how cool or deep or interesting it is. If it doesn't fit, let it go.

Let go of the character, the idea, or the name that's been done by someone bigger and/or better than you. It's not worth the copycat accusations at best and lawsuits at worst. No matter how much you love it, no matter how long you've used it, let it go.

Yes, some of these are from experience. That last one definitely is. God, it was so hard to ax, but when it's your untried idea versus George R. R. Martin's published work, Martin wins. I had no idea he'd made a superhero world where the heroes are called "Aces." I'm counting my blessings I haven't published anything in my series yet. It would have been a disaster for my career simply because I didn't know. So I had to take a kryptonite ax to the name I've had for my heroes for four years. The Aces are dead, long live the Arches.

So commiserate with me, writer readers. What darlings have you had to let go in a particularly violent fashion?

Happy New Year!

Honestly, it feels like just yesterday we were freaking out over Y2k, and now it's 2015. Unbelievable.

It's been a busy few weeks for me, and it'll continue to be for a few more. However, I'm still working on moving forward. Despite the Christmas holidays involving much more than anticipated (including one very nice surprise) and leaving me with fewer free days, I scurried, forced myself to work, and knocked two thousand words out of the park to finish the four short stories I wanted done on 12/31. Goal 1, done.

As for Goal 2, the Secret Santa Story Swap? Oh my god, I love my prompt. It's been an adventure just figuring out how to include the desired elements, but I've done it in a way I'm excited to write. The story's plotted and outlined, the world is built. All that's left is write... and, well, edit, of course.

Evicting "Eventually"

Well, I won NaNo. Handily, for once. The story's nowhere near "the end," something that's rare for me. My 18 outlined scenes took me through almost all 50k, and by Nov 25th, I validated my wordcount and claimed my victory earlier than I ever have.

The problem is, now I have another novel nowhere near "the end." Just like almost every other one I've worked on that I'll finish "eventually." I've got a stack of half-finished novels where I neared the end but got lost along the way or stopped halfway through. After five years of NaNo and swearing I'm back in the game, all I have to show for it is one complete novel, and I've been "editing" it since 2011. I've been trying to build a readership on social media with nothing for anyone to read. It's shameful. I am ashamed. And I decided yesterday I'm doing something about it.

I wrote out everything I want to, need to do. Every story I want to edit, rewrite, outline. And I dated them all. Every single one has a deadline now, and I'm hoping that posting about it will hold me accountable. Make me cast out the procrastination monster, evict the word "eventually," and move "now" in to replace it.

So what are the goals?

Goal 1: Finish the next step of all four short stories for the Aces collection by Dec 31st, 2014. Two to finish editing, two to finish writing and edit.

Goal 2: Write and edit this year's Sekrit Solstice Science-Fiction Fantasy Story Swap (a holiday short story exchange) by Feb 14th, 2015.

Goal 3: Plot and write the main story #1's shorts tie in to. Plotting by Feb 28th, written by May 31st.

Goal 4: Finally finish the edits on my one complete novel by June 30th.

Goal 5: Replot and finish three of my five incomplete novels by Dec 31st, 2015.


So that's it, summed up. My next year and change in writing. I want 2015 to be the year I get my first agent rejection. Or maybe my first agent. Maybe I'll go the self-publishing route and get my first sales, who knows? But I have to have things done first. Wish me luck? And if I don't update, feel free to bring out the cattle prod.

NaNo2014: Day 10 - Ch-Ch-Changes

One whole week in, and the story's been through some major changes. After I said last week how the first few days were slow and the MC wasn't taking the spotlight, I knew I needed to do something different to make it work. The trick, apparently, laid in the perspective. On the fourth day, I started writing in 1st person present, a perspective and tense I'd considered when I started but decided against for one reason or another.

I was such a fool. A fool!

My character wasn't coming to the front on her own, so I went into her head instead. The difference is astounding. I don't know how well I'm really doing. I'm going to need to reread Hunger Games or Divergent again to study the perspective after I'm done, but for now, I'm much more connected with Syn and her thoughts and feelings, things I just couldn't express in 3rd person past. I'm going to have to completely redo the whole first 8,000 words, but that's for after November.

There have also been a few unexpected surprises in characters. I intended for one to be a mix of Jeremy Renner and Hunger Games' Cinna. The character was to be Syn's hair designer and makeup artist, and Mr. Renner has a history of makeup artistry. Unusual past for an action star. I loved it. And then, when the time comes to meet this man, this Hagrid-esque giant named Daedalus knocks down Syn's door coming into the world with a, "Rise and shine! It's 6AM and there's hair that needs doing!" He's enormous, Scottish, and keeps a beard that belongs in a grooming competition. He is nothing at all like I planned for him to be. I adore him.

The biggest surprise of all, though, is that I'm not halfway through the story yet. Usually, by this time, I'm starting to sweat. I'll have gotten through a dozen planned scenes and fear I'm approaching the end too fast. By now, I'm afraid I only have 30k in the story, 35k at most. I always hit 50k in the end, but I'm always in the final scene, too. But this one? It's barely begun. I'm on scene 7 of my outline, and I have 18 planned out. Those don't even cover the whole story! There's still more to come after! There's no way I'm going to be done at 50k. I'm actually going to have a novel long enough to publish. I'm not going to have to fight and claw for extra words. It's hard to believe, after four years of doing this. It feels good. Maybe this is it. It feels like it's too early to be so optimistic, but I can't seem to help myself. It's only been a week, but it's a good NaNo so far.

NaNo Wordcount: 18,020

NaNo2014: Day 3 - Rebel?

All around the world on Saturday, pens started scratching on paper and fingers started clacking on keyboards as the clock ticked over to November's first midnight. It's NaNo time.

I thought I'd be rebelling this year. After all, I planned on working on Potential, and I already had 2000 words of it. Everyone knows NaNoWriMo rules say it has to be a new project, otherwise you're a rebel.

Well, the rules DID say that. Until this year, apparently. Seems things have changed and the metaphorical belts of the guidelines were loosened. So I'm working on Potential. And I am NOT rebelling.

It's been a slow first two days. The plot points weren't as solid as I thought, and my main character tried to take a sideline so her best friend could have the spotlight. As soon as BFF was brushed out the way, things got a lot easier. I know in edits I'm going to have to pull MC to the forefront while hopefully BFF won't end up being a darling to cut. I really do love her and her quirks, she's a perfect foil for the MC. Any changes will have to come in December, though. For now, I need to keep progressing. Edit later, write now.

NaNo Wordcount: 4,392

Questions and Answers

It's that most wonderful time of the year again. The weather's getting cooler (ugh), leaves are falling (noooo), but it's October and that means NaNoWriMo is coming! I'll be working on Potential over the coming month. It's been growing well in the planning stage. As I go, I'll be trying to update the blog more, so keep checking in an November goes!

The Maze Runner trilogy and prequel

I've been reading The Maze Runner series and keeping an eye on James Dashner's style as a YA writer in particular. One thing I've picked up most from him is the idea, "Always leave an open question." Don't end chapters with everything neatly tied up. As a reader, you keep reading a book to answer questions. Re: Maze Runner - What is the maze? What's the way out of it? How did Thomas get there? What's going on when people get stung by a Griever? It starts off with many questions right at the beginning, fueled by the main character's missing memories and new situation. From then on, Dashner starts answering those questions, but just before or as one closes and a chapter draws near an end, another one opens, drawing you from chapter to chapter all the way to the end, where most, but not all, are answered. The remaining ones draw you to the next book.

As a result, I've added something new to my outlining notes: Questions asked and questions answered per scene. Every scene should add a question, even if it's one as small as "How will Syn do at her prospecting" that'll be answered in the very next chapter. Not every scene needs to answer a question, but there should always be an open question, all the way to the very last page, to keep the reader moving forward. It's not always easy to find these questions, and if I'm really struggling, I know I need to do something more with the scene.

And if you were wondering how the Maze Runner series is, I give it two thumbs up. The main trilogy grabs you and drags you in, although, as with most trilogies it seems, the first book is the strongest and most definitely worth a read if you like YA dystopian. I'm not quite as gripped by the prequel novel as the others, though. I like the characters and it's great to see the world as it starts to fall apart versus long gone, as it is in the trilogy, but it just doesn't hold my attention as well. I'm not as attached to the characters, most likely because I can already predict their futures. That's always been a stumbling point of mine. If you tell me at the beginning that you're recounting the history of the survivors of disaster or something like that, I've lost all the tension of wondering if they'll survive. The biggest question is answered. I'll get through it eventually, but it's a few weeks between readings instead of one or two sittings, and I might pick something else up in the meantime. I've had my eye on the Divergent series for a while now. It's probably next in line, though whether it'll be before or after NaNo, I can't say. It's coming soon, though, that's for sure.

Everything is Something to Learn

Something I've recently realized (a little too recently considering how long I've been writing) is that every experience, good or bad, joyful, sorrowful, humiliating, or strange, is potential. Every moment of life you experience is a moment you can accurately reproduce in your stories, should the need arise. The more you're aware, the more you absorb, the more real you can write.

I learned a lot this past week. Whether I'll ever need it or not, I don't know, but if I do, it's there now.

Now I know about the size and beauty of El Paso, TX, especially at night.

Now I know how a three-foot tall, 28lb toddler can KO a full-grown adult.

Now I know  the process of a military funeral.

Every little thing's a lesson for a writer. Every moment is potential. There's nothing quite like laying someone to rest to remind you to appreciate every single one.

And if for some reason you need a toddler to take out an adult, have said toddler lock their legs around the seated adult's legs at the last second while she tries to put the toddler on the ground in front of her. When the adult realizes too late that the toddler's feet are not where her center of balance said they should be, gravity and trying to avoid squishing the child will take care of the rest.