Don’t think. Just write.

Thinking is for second drafts. First drafts are about getting the words out.

Don’t think. Just write.

So here I go. I’m shutting my brain off and turning my fingers on. Wish me luck!

Yesterday, I hit a bit of a wall, so I put aside the draft and went back to reread Book 1. This was my first time reading UnFairy Tale Life since it’s been published, so I was afraid I’d be cringing at things I couldn’t change, but it actually wasn’t so bad. And it definitely helped me to get back into the character’s voice and the story’s off-beat humor. After that, drafting became a little bit easier.

Something else that helped me with drafting was going back and perfecting the opening pages. I know some people just forge ahead with a first draft and don’t look back, but I’m too much of a perfectionist for that. I find that when I get the opening chapter feeling solid, then I’m much more grounded in the project. Once I had the first chapter in better shape, it was easier to keep going.

Right now I have four chapters written. It’s not nearly as much as I was hoping to have done at this point, but I feel like I’m finally picking up speed. We’ll see how it goes.

My husband, in his eternal attempt to keep me from stressing myself to death, reassured me that he wouldn’t even notice if the timeline was off, and he’s probably right. Readers don’t often pick up on things like that. But I’ll know if a day or two is missing in the story, and I just can’t leave it alone until I fix it. Otherwise, it will always nag at me. I don’t think I’m being a perfectionist. I’m just being a responsible storyteller.

So pardon me while I keep banging my head against the wall, trying to finally figure this thing out!

There’s an exercise I do with my students that I think proves this point. I have them write a scene twice. The first time I have them write it normally, and the second time I tell them to exaggerate it as much as they can. Undoubtedly, the second version is always more engaging, and it almost never feels too over-the-top.

I think sometimes we’re afraid to really push things, but to make a story feel real, we need to make it elevated. Fiction is real life dramatized, after all. So make it dramatic!

I’ve been working on revising a tween novel on and off for a while now. My main focus has been on character and pacing, but I had a realization the other night when I was having trouble sleeping. I’d written the story in past tense, but what if it actually needed to be in present tense?

When I rewrote the first chapter in present, I was excited to see the character’s personality pop. That was the good news. The bad news? Having to rewrite all 46k words in present tense. Ugh. But I decided to dive in, and so far I’m liking the results.

An added bonus is that going through and changing the tense is making me really pay attention to each scene. I’m hoping the process will give me a new perspective on the overall story and help me fix some of the other issues.

How are you all doing with your WIPs? Anyone else embarking on a tense change?

I haven’t done a WIP update in a while, mostly because I’ve been a bit stuck. But the past week I’ve managed to get back into the swing of things. I’ve been revising a funny tween novel, focusing on pacing and stakes. Fun stuff.

I thought I was making progress until I heard back from a beta reader who’d read a slightly older version of the story. She had a lot of good points…which made me realize I still have a lot of work left to do. Sigh. But at least I know, and knowing is half the battle. (Though, as someone on Twitter said the other day, what’s the other half of the battle?)

How are you all doing with your WIPs? Anyone else doing a two steps forward, one step back dance with your project?

Part of why this has been on my mind recently is that I’ve been brainstorming a new picture book idea. As I learned with the last picture book I worked on, it can take months to find the right way to approach an idea and develop it into something worth reading. So I’ve been taking my time with this new idea, letting it sit, coming back to it and sketching things out, making lists, etc.

This wool-gathering approach is the opposite of how I usually work; normally I jump into an idea and run with it. But the problem with doing that is often the idea stays just that: an idea. It never grows or blooms. And eventually, I abandon it because there isn’t enough there to keep me interested.

So how do you make an idea into a story? Part of it is time, of course, but I think it’s also important to think about why this story is special and why people should care about it. Then you get out of idea territory and get into emotions, which is ultimately what readers want to feel (whether they laugh or cry or gasp in awe). Ideas are fun but emotions are true.

How about you? How do you take an idea and make it into a story?

Okay, on to writing legacies. This is something I’ve been thinking about for a while now: what do I want my writing legacy to be? Since life is (unfortunately) finite, there’s no way I’ll be able to write every single project I’d like to. And now that I have multiple projects in various stages of completion, all vying for my attention, I’ve been trying to decide which ones are most important to me.

It might be a little depressing to think about this sort of thing, but I think it’s actually given me a sense of purpose. When I really thought about it, I realized that of my unfinished projects, there’s one (a YA fairy tale that I’ve been reworking for a while now) that feels the most like me. If I never finish it, I’ll be truly disappointed. I know that project, for sure, needs to be part of my writing legacy.

How about you? Have you thought about your own writing legacy and which projects you absolutely need to put out into the world?

Okay, first the good news. My author copies arrived yesterday! An entire box filled with my pretty shiny books!

The dog and I both agreed that they smell yummy.

And now the not-so-great news. I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been working on revising my Camp NaNo project. I knew there was an issue with the story, but I couldn’t quite figure it out. Even after I cut down the beginning chapters and tried to bring out more of the character’s personality, it still felt flat. I put it aside for a few days to try to get some perspective.

Finally, a couple days ago, something clicked: I was telling the wrong character’s story. I needed to tell the main character’s roommate’s story instead. The main reason? The roommate has much more to lose (and gain) right from the start. Her situation is filled with tension, so I won’t have to worry about it being boring. Plus, I think her personality will shine through more clearly.

Of course, starting over isn’t easy. There’s nothing more intimidating than staring at a blank document all over again. But I’m hoping it will be worth it in the end.

How are you doing with your WIP? Anyone else have to start all over recently?

For a change of pace, I’ve also been working on a new picture book. I wrote a terrible first draft of it last week which went in the complete wrong direction. I put that aside and started over. This time, instead of jumping into writing, I’ve been doing some serious brainstorming. I sat down last night and, using my shockingly bad artistic skills, I made a map of sorts. Drawing out the setting of the story helped me to figure out some of the action, and it also gave me a a chance to play around with some ideas. Hopefully I can start another draft soon.

How are you all doing with your WIPs? Anyone else have to put your manuscript aside to get a better sense of the story?