by Karen Krossing | Apr 30, 2017 | On Writing
I’m a fan of daily word counts when I’m writing a first draft of a novel. It helps me focus on my goal of simply getting it down on paper, allowing revisions to come later. As novelist Jane Smiley wrote, “Every first draft is perfect, because all a first draft has to do is exist.”
Recently, I’ve made a change to my word-count technique that’s working well. Usually, I set a count of anywhere from 500 to 1500 new words on my work-in-progress per writing session, depending on how much time I have to write. Now, I’ve changed that to include new words about my work-in-progress.
Here’s how it works: If I have half a day to write, I might decide I have to write a minimum of 500 new words of my manuscript or 1000 new words about my story. I always double the number of words that are about my story, since they are messier and tend to wander.
I’m finding this new technique is a useful way to write through blocks and challenges because I’m spending my writing time gaining insights about my story instead of writing a bunch of manuscript words that I’ll probably throw out later. I also find that I’m less distracted during writing sessions because I always have a measurable task to focus on. It satisfies me to be able to measure my progress, and I like to proudly announce to my family each evening how much I wrote.
What might I write about my story? Here are some options.
Write About Characters
I write character notes before I start writing a first draft, but those notes aren’t always thorough enough. Let me explain using an example.
On my current work-in-progress, I had two more first-draft chapters to write, but I was stuck. Depending on what one of my secondary characters did next, my plot could resolve in a few different ways. I realized that I didn’t know enough about this minor character who had suddenly developed a larger role in the story. I wrote character notes about her and asked myself questions about her current state:
- How does she feel right now?
- What does she notice about her world?
- How does she view my protagonist and the other characters?
- What details from her personal history might be triggered right now?
- What secrets might she be keeping?
- What’s her goal in this chapter?
Write About Plot
I write a synopsis before I start writing a first draft, but I also allow it to evolve organically.
Continuing with my example, now that I understood this secondary character better, I could begin to image her next steps. I decided to write about my plot by brainstorming alternative ideas, depending on how this character might behave and how my protagonist might react to her.
The result was a change in plot from my original synopsis. I discovered that the big moment I’d been writing toward wasn’t the true heart of my story. A new destination had emerged—one that better suited my novel.
Write from a Different Point of View
Now I knew my secondary character’s next steps. However, I discovered that I still didn’t have the whole picture. I only knew broad strokes, rather than details of her actions.
I decided to write the chapter from her point of view—detailed scenes that would never appear in the book. It forced me to develop every nuance of her thought-process, motivations and actions. When I began writing my first draft again, I knew exactly what this secondary character felt and thought. Her dialogue and deeds came to life on the page, and my protagonist and I could get on with the story.
Journal About the Story
Finally, I might write a journal entry about my story. I use this technique when I need to sort out my feelings about it. Maybe I’m afraid that the novel isn’t working or that I’ll never create a readable story. I write about my fears, trying to turn them into positive ways forward:
- Why am I afraid the story isn’t working?
- What revision notes can I make that will improve the story?
- In what ways is the story succeeding?
After I’ve written about my story, I’m ready to write my actual manuscript again. When I do, my first-draft words are more targeted, with richer characters and better plot intricacies.
For me, it’s a win-win. I move my story forward, and I have a measurable result after each writing session. Even better, I eventually end up with a finished first draft to celebrate.
Hopefully, this technique will help you finish your first draft too.
by Karen Krossing | Mar 17, 2017 | Mentoring, On Writing, Presentation News
An East End Arts Initiative
Saturday, April 8, 2017, 1 to 4 pm
Danforth/Coxwell Library, 1675 Danforth Avenue, Toronto
Ages 16 +
FREE
Register here
Our lives are the fuel for our writing. The everyday places where we spend time, the people we meet, the events that still haunt us or inspire us — all of these infuse our stories, poems, memoirs, and rants.
Please join me for Art MEETS: Writing in Place — a writing workshop for ages 16 and up. Using fun and inspiring prompts, like six-word stories and writing based on photos, you’ll learn writing techniques and explore how your everyday experiences can enrich your writing. You can also bring a story, poem, memoir, or rant that you’d like feedback on, as well as your questions about writing techniques or how to get published. Designed for emerging writers and diverse voices, this inclusive workshop will also help you prepare your writing for two East End Arts writing opportunities.
My City My Six is a public art project in partnership with the City of Toronto, where individuals are encouraged to submit six-word stories to be included in a local east end and City-wide exhibition in September and October. What’s Your Story, in partnership with the Ontario Book Publishers Organization and Toronto Arts Council, is a writing competition for both established and emerging writers.
by Karen Krossing | Mar 1, 2017 | Book News, On Writing
Back in 2013, I was thrilled to hear that Penguin Canada would release a teen novel based on the life of Anne of Green Gables author L.M. Montgomery. What fun to fictionalize a Canadian icon who’d left us with so many literary treasures! I had perfect faith that the talented Melanie J. Fishbane would bring teenaged Lucy Maud Montgomery to life. Too bad I had to wait four years to enjoy the results.
I’m not known for my patience, but somehow I endured the long years of anticipation. Lucky me – I got my hands on an advanced reader’s copy. Maud: A Novel Inspired by the Life of L.M. Montgomery will be available for purchase on April 25, 2017.
In Maud, Melanie affectionately reveals Maud’s life from age 14 to 18, including her time as a student in charming Cavendish, PEI, and her year living with her father and difficult stepmother in the frontier town of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Fans of Montgomery’s novels will adore this exploration of her bosom friends, her handsome and teasing suitors, her rigid grandparents, and the challenges she faced in pursuing her dream of becoming an author. But readers don’t need to be familiar with Montgomery’s books to enjoy Melanie’s absorbing prose. Maud is a heartwarming story by an author who is certainly a kindred spirit of Montgomery’s. You can check out Melanie’s blog or find her on Twitter.
Me: How did it feel to fictionalize a Canadian literary legend? How did you approach that task?
Melanie: There’s a tremendous responsibility to fictionalize someone whom people have an idea about. L.M. Montgomery left so many parts of herself behind, but it didn’t tell the full picture. She also crafted the idea that she’s Anne (or Emily from Emily of New Moon), and that’s how people tend to see her. She’s very precious to her readers, to Canada. I was also aware that her family would be reading the novel. I was compassionate about this, but I also knew I had to be true to my character and her story.
I read Maud’s journals, her autobiography, scrapbooks, and combed through her library at the Guelph Archives. I also read the letters she wrote to her best friend and cousin growing up, Pensie Macneill. And, of course, I read her fiction. I particularly looked at the Emily books because they are Maud’s portrait of a young writer. Some things are written in fiction because they are safer to explore. And then I listened to her. I interviewed Maud’s family, I walked her paths where I could. I travelled to both PEI and Saskatchewan. I embodied her physically and hoped that what emerged was as truthful to my character and her story as it could be.
The other thing I did is write papers. I found that it helped me to figure things out, maybe because of my MA in History. I gave a number of papers about Maud as teen writer, one about Maud’s experience with the “mean girls,” who in the novel are embodied in Clemmie, and a few on what I call “The Perfect Man Archetype” in YA literature. Here I explored the connection between Maud’s fictional characters and those in her real life. This helped me sift through the many questions I had.
Me: I agree that “some things are written in fiction because they are safer to explore.” That’s so true. On another note, as a writer, I felt very connected to Maud’s desire to write and her use of it to understand her world. Can you tell us about your personal connection to Maud as a character in your novel?
Melanie J. Fishbane
(Photo credit: Ayelet Tsabari)
Melanie: Maud came from a family of storytellers, and she wanted to tell her own story. I, too, come from a family of storytellers. My brother, Joel Fishbane, is a playwright and the writer of The Thunder of Giants. On my mom’s side, I have many creative cousins: Beth Dranoff, just got her first book published, Mark of the Moon; Shaina Silver-Bard, is a musician and playwright. And that’s just a few. On my dad’s side, I have a cousin who writes academic works, and one who writes about yoga. So Maud and I both come by it honestly. 🙂
On both sides of my family we tell our personal history, too. My Zaida Myer (who I dedicated the novel to) would tell me many stories about growing up in Toronto and being in the army in the Second World War. Right now, I’m soaking up my 94-year-old grandmother’s stories about immigrating to Canada in the 1920s and making a life in Edmonton and then in Toronto. In fact, one of the best compliments I got about Maud was when she told me the Prince Albert sections reminded her of growing up out West.
Maud is connected to her stories through her experience and listening to her family’s stories. She was very clear about this in her autobiography, The Alpine Path, and her journals are full of those stories. I had initially tried to get these into the draft, but it didn’t quite work out that way. But it was definitely a way for me to get into her character and her process. I’m inspired to write because of my family’s stories, and I think it was the same for Maud, too.
Me: You’ve recently completed a MFA in writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts – a program that a young Maud would have been thrilled to attend. How did the skills you learned there help you in crafting your novel?
L.M. Montgomery
(Photo credit: L.M. Montgomery Collection, Guelph Archives)
Melanie: It is true that she would have loved to be part of such a rich and vibrant writer community. VCFA taught me … everything. My advisors gave me permission to trust myself, listen to my characters, and honour my process. They also helped me understand that the story comes from revision and that all stories must go through this to find their truth. To listen to the feedback and (at least try) not to take it too personally (which was something I struggled with when I was writing my first MA). I realized in hindsight my advisor then was just trying to make me a better writer. What becomes important is the story, making it the best it can be. I learned plotting techniques, mapping, and the questions one should ask when writing historical fiction. Some of this of course I knew, but my advisors gave me more tools for my toolbox.
Me: I kept comparing Maud to Anne Shirley as I read, and your novel highlights similarities between them. Was one of your goals in writing the book to help readers understand Maud’s own fiction better?
Melanie: Certainly. As I said above, one of the ways I found Maud’s character was to read her fiction. That’s the way her readers discovered her. It was important to me, though, that there was room to breathe. Anne Shirley is her own fictional character that was birthed roughly 15 years after this novel takes place. By that point, Maud had experienced many more things that would have influenced the writing of that book. It was important to find Maud as a teenager and consider how she was separate from Anne Shirley. But I also needed to find the seedlings of the character Maud would one day create.
Me: You’ve mentioned your academic papers about the perfect man archetype in young-adult literature, so let’s talk about Maud’s beau’s in real life and the fictional beaus she created. How does her character Gilbert Blythe relate to Maud’s real-life beaus?
Melanie: Ha! Well, as you say, I’ve written many papers on this. Let’s see if I can do the short-answer version without giving away spoilers. There are two boyfriends featured in Maud, Nate Lockhart and Will Pritchard. Truthfully, it’s difficult for me to distinguish between the fictional Nate and Will and the real ones. Also, I’ve learned about the “real” ones through the lens of Maud’s journals, so I already have a barrier. But, from the sources, I can tell you that Nate was the Baptist minister’s stepson, and they competed often for grades in school. He was also a bit of a romantic and enjoyed poetry; he and Maud had those things in common. Maud and Nate’s relationship was up and down; they fought often, and there were times when they didn’t talk. Maud met Will when she went out West. He was better with the land than with words, but he encouraged her writing. I think he allowed Maud to be herself, as much as she knew how to be. Gilbert Blythe was Anne’s academic rival. He doesn’t always do things right, like Nate, and he has a romantic side – the heart in Anne of Green Gables. As Anne and Gilbert grow older, at least before they get married, Gilbert encourages Anne’s work. He’s the one who tells her to write about Avonlea. He loves Anne for Anne. Nate and Will both loved Maud for who she was.
Nate Lockhart
(Photo credit: The Shining Scroll, L.M. Montgomery Literary Society)
Will Pritchard
(Photo credit: L.M. Montgomery Collection, Guelph Archives)
Me: Will you give us a sneak peek into what you’re writing now?
Melanie: I’m writing another historical fiction. Different period. A young woman who has her consciousness raised about women’s rights because of something that happens to her best friend … and she decides to do something about it.
Me: Sounds intriguing! I look forward to reading it.
by Karen Krossing | Feb 21, 2017 | Book News, On Writing
I was thrilled to profile author Mahtab Narsimhan in the CANSCAIP News this winter. CANSCAIP is the Canadian Society of Children’s Authors, Illustrators and Performers – a great source of information about the book community and a friendly support for both new and established creators for kids and teens. Born in Mumbai, Narsimhan writes fiction for kids, focusing mainly on stories set in her native India. You can read my full profile here and explore Narsimhan’s books here, including her wonderful recent novel Mission Mumbai: A Novel of Sacred Cows, Snakes, and Stolen Toilets. Enjoy!
