by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
In last week’s post, I gave three possible issues that could slow you down as you write your book. But there are plenty of others. :) Here are four more and more ideas for tackling these problems as they pop up.
Details: character names, making a chapter ending punchy, etc. If you’re not an outliner, introducing a new character name may slow you down as you try to find the perfect fit. But you may not know the perfect fit yet because you haven’t developed the character until later in the book. Instead of stopping your momentum, just type in a symbol that will be easy for you to find later on (# or *) and you can replace it later with a character name.
Being ultra-aware of chapter endings, chapter length, and other book formatting issues can also slow you down. Consider writing straight through the book. It’s what I do and I’ve found it helps to keep me moving forward with the story and actually improves chapter length uniformity.
Details you’re not sure of. If you’re writing a series (or even if you’re not), there may be little details that try to trip you up as you go. Is it currently Monday or Tuesday in the story? That sort of continuity issue may make you want to scroll back and read for a while. I’ve found it’s better if I make a note for myself, either in a separate document called Things to Check On or in the Track Changes comment feature, to fix the problem later.
Realizing something’s not working: I don’t like to fix problems in first drafts. Somehow it puts me right into editing mode instead of in more of a creative mindset. Instead, I flag the part in the story where I’ve realized things are going wrong, make a note of the change(s) that I’m making going forward, and pick up with the story as if the problem had been fixed in the previous pages.
Lack of focus: Probably most of us have a problem staying focused while we write (and do other tasks). There are so many distractions these days and writers have a tendency to lose focus anyway…it’s the daydreamy part of us that helps us create.
If focus is a recurring challenge for you and is cutting into your writing time, try different methods to see if you can focus better. I’ve turned off the wifi on my laptop, used timers to keep sessions short, written in different locations if home is too distracting (harder to do now, with the pandemic), and tried listening to ambient music through earbuds. Writer Ambre Dawn Leffler recommends building focus through tai chi and yoga. Colleen M. Story offers a range of tips in this article, which also focuses on how general writer health contributes to focus.
Do any of these strike a chord with you? How do you keep your momentum going with your story?
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Hey, that’s how I tackle characters and chapters! I just leave a blank though. (Which makes it fun when there are more than one unnamed character.) I also just write straight through and don’t put in chapter breaks. Just scene breaks. I figure out where to end chapters later.
It makes it sooo much easier not to worry about chapter breaks, doesn’t it?
Great tips. I can see where you can get bogged down if you start focusing on these details especially like naming a character.
And sometimes you don’t really know the character well enough to name them until you really start working on the book.
Thanks for sharing your tips. They are so timely for me. I’m not going to do NaNo, but I do want to pick up the pace of my writing and write more chapters in November. Thanks!
That sounds like my plan for November, too! Good luck with it.
You raised one of the issues I face a lot, Elizabeth, I think we have to teach ourselves to just go ahead a finish a draft, even if we know something’s not working. It’s so much easier to go back and revise later than it is to spend days trying to figure out what needs to be fixed in a particular scene. I need to work more on that one!
It’s so easy to get bogged down in a draft, isn’t it? At least we know everything can be fixed in draft 2!
More great tips! I use Scrivener and I always have a file called To Add or Change. This helps me keep track of those things and lets me keep drafting.
That’s a great feature! Thanks for sharing the tip, Jemi. 😀
Whoa…that’s a mind-blowing idea, not trying to perfect each chapter (or scene) opening and closing and just getting it down on paper — seriously! I find that hard to do sometimes because I need a certain rhythm to the story, and if I don’t have those pieces, it can break the flow. But maybe I can just make a note to myself about what I need there, other than the facts/logistics?
That’s exactly what I do to keep my momentum…just jot down the issue in either a different doc (noting the page number) or in the doc itself. That way I can just keep moving on. It’s sort of similar to what I do to make sure I sleep at night…do a brain dump and then worry about the to-do list the next day. As long as I’ve noted the stuff I need to do later, I can sleep…or, when writing, keep moving to the next scene.
Such great advice. I always think I have to have all the details right up front ;)
The bits and pieces often seem to work themselves out later. Hope you’re doing well, Gwen!
Hi Elizabeth – I really have trouble when writing my posts – not to go and correct things that I can ‘feel’ aren’t right … but try and correct by reading through properly afterwards – not always perfect at that stage either … the scanning eyes click in. I know if I wrote a book … I’d have to have what I call ‘a bible’ of the book … detailing all the aspects – must help should there end up being a sequel. Great tips – so well set out … stay safe and take care – Hilary
The story bibles are so helpful! My memory hasn’t ever been great and the little details we throw out in a book can be tough to keep up with otherwise. Hope you stay safe and well too, Hilary!
“Realising something’s not working” and “Lack of focus” are like two large thorns in anything I write. I have this annoying habit of scrolling up every couple of paragraphs or passages and reading what I have written and then doing some editing. It’s such a waste of time. I’m consciously trying to write the first draft of anything, including blog posts and content for my company’s clients, and then edit the whole thing. I need a change in mindset.
Hope it helps, Prashant! I know that can be a tough problem to overcome.
Love these tips. In all things, I am not good at multi-tasking. I never really considered stopping to fix a plot error flips my brain into edit mode. That totally makes sense to me now. When it’s time to write, write. Edit later. Or lock my brain up. LOL
If locking our brain up is an option, I’m on it, ha! The only thing I can effectively multitask is vacuuming and something else. :)