So.....

My writing background isn't in novels. Oh sure, that's where I started reading. But I started really writing scripts for movies and plays. That's the only way I could get a whole story out. Consider: a screenplay is about 90 pages long, each page is made up of mostly spaces, barely any space is taken up with flowery prose, everything is dialogue. A short novel is 50,000 words (or 200 pages at 250 avg. words per page). Writing a screenplay you can cover a lot more ground with less words. It really fit my impatient nature.

To tell you the truth I still enjoy script writing for its focus on dialogue.

To that end I'm going to share one of the first lessons we learned about dialogue in screenplays because this lesson translates well to novel writing as well.

Don't use filler words.

"So", "um", "well", "uh", anything like that. You've probably cut them out of your dialogue in the middle, but look at the beginning of your lines.

"So, I was walking down to Walmart the other day..."

"Um, I guess I could go with you."

"Well, there was a gun under the desk."

"Well," is a great way to give yourself some extra time to think about what you're going to say before you say it. We do it all the time when we're speaking. But it doesn't help your story. Go through every line of dialogue and if it starts with "Well," simply cut the "Well," and leave the rest. The same goes for the other filler words. Try this little trick out and see if it snaps up your dialogue.

"I was walking down to Walmart the other day..."

"I guess I could go with you."

"There was a gun under the desk."

The feeling of the lines change. They're snappier. Now that you cut your filler words out you can use them to add a sense of indecision or hesitation because they'll stand out.

"Well, have fun writing...I guess."

Romantic

I don't know about all writers, but I certainly get delusions of grandeur(I was going to give you a link to Han Solo saying this in Return of the Jedi, but I can't seem to find any straight up clips from the film on YouTube...I shouldn't be surprised). I could see myself sitting pretty atop the New York Times best seller list, or debating whether to sell my movie rights to Warner Brothers or Disney. I might have even imagined an interview on a talk show (it didn't turn out that well).

I don't think we should be surprised if we have these thoughts. As writers our goal is to make money by thinking up creative scenarios that are not always linked to reality.

And who knows? Maybe some of those romantic visions will come true. Nothing's wrong with having goals. But we're accustomed to starting a story where it gets interesting. So much so, that perhaps we forget that the back story really does have to happen before the story can. Let's take a look at what that back story includes.

For most writers a successful career comes by writing....and lots of it. The best comparison I've heard is that getting published is like getting a master's degree. It takes a lot of work, and most people take 7-10 years. I'm not here to tell you that it's not possible to finish sooner, I'm just telling you the average from published writers talking about their own lives.

You may think that you have the skills to write a salable novel right now, but don't downplay the profession. If anyone could pick up writing and pump out hit novels overnight then we'd have a lot less reason to pay for books.

Now, just to make sure that I'm not a complete downer, I'd like to remind you that you do have some skills. Maybe you're good at plotting out stories. Maybe you're great at dialogue. Maybe you're only so-so at everything, but you can do it all.

Writing takes practice. So if you want to write a book, then write a book. In fact, you should probably write two or three. You'll learn a lot, and you will likely write some good stuff.

So start writing and keep writing. When you look at the bottom line, that's the only way to be a writer.

Oh, and then you will need to learn how to revise...

Keeping it up

So, how do you keep writing? There are times that I feel like no matter how busy I am I have enough time to write. I slip into my stories in five minutes or less and then get back to the real world. Of course I get more done in the thirty to forty-five minute stints, but I seem to be always on. It's still work. I still have to struggle through plot issues or search for the just the right word, but I keep going.

Then there are the other times. The times when writing seems a near impossibility. I struggle to get enough done in every other aspect of my life that when I get a spare moment I just crash. I am doing the same things, but it seems so much more overwhelming.

So what's the difference?

The only thing I've come up with so far stems from a comment made by Dan Wells on Writing Excuses. Please forgive me for not knowing the exact podcast. If you're interested in writing then you'll probably want to listen to the whole archive anyway...but it won't save you time. I think the cast was about writing and working other jobs.

The main idea of the comment was that people who work and write have to do their pre-writing while they're doing their other jobs. For example, I work one of my jobs as  a courier. I can't exactly sit and write while operating a motor vehicle, but I can think about what I'm writing. Or on the drive home from work I start getting my thoughts together to write.

One problem with that is that I get home and I have lunch with my wife and two of my kids and I'm back at square one if I ever get to my computer. That's not so bad because I have to go to sleep right after lunch so I can be up to work my other job. But there's so much in between that I lose track of where to start.

Another problem is that while my brain is supposed to be focused on work, it is working out character problems.

And then there are all the little things that I have to take care of like paying bills, mowing the lawn, taking out the trash...you know the stuff.

I'm not trying to whine, or say my life is terrible. I'm giving an example that you might be able to relate to. There's so much stuff going on in life. It's hard to find time to write. And when we do it's not always easy to do it.

If you can, spend some time pre-writing. Get yourself ready for it so that when you do sit down you're ready. But whatever you do, write. That's what will get you there.

Good luck. If you've got other ideas on how to keep writing leave a comment. I'd appreciate it, and if anyone else is actually reading these posts you might help them too.