writing

One of the top questions I get asked now that my first book is out in the world is, “hEY BUT HOW DID YOU DO IT???”

And to this I say: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Okay I’m juuuust kidding. I do actually have about 13% of a clue what I’m doing. This is a staggering percentage and we are all in awe of it. (Hush. Act in awe.) I’ve basically been writing seriously for 9 years. I’ve been agented for 5 years and had a book published by Hachette UK for, ah….2 months. SO! I have a lot to learn still about being a published author. (I still rather feel like the child with muddy gumboots in a room full of Adult Authors.)

But I did get here. And I did do a lot of things that I truly think helped me get here. YES there’s a bit of luck and timing involved, but also freaking haaaard work. It’s easy just to say: “Oh look!! Cait has a big blog!! Now she has a book deal!! It came so easy for her!!”

Haha. Haaa hahahaha. No. I worked hard for YEARS so let’s see what I was doing, hmm?!

1. I WROTE MILLIONS OF WORDS AND OVER 30+ BOOKS

If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you’ll know I am a wild writer like this. In 2017 I wrote a million words (including outlines that went over 40K sometimes, and 7 novels…some of which were over 130K). That is a LOT OF WORDS. And truly, I needed them to learn how to write. Some might learn to write a lot faster than I did…but I needed SO much practise. All these horrible gnarly drafts (starting from age 15) got my to where I am = a published author.

Are these 30 drafts something you might read someday???

LMAO. They are not.

“So what was the point of writing them all??? Wouldn’t it have been better to write less books but write them better and work on them harder?”

Look this is a seriously good question. I did edit some and rewrite others. Actually the 16th draft I wrote was what became A Thousand Perfect Notes.

Personally, I needed to write a lot to learn. I wanted to experiment. I wanted to chase that glittery idea that probably wasn’t marketable. I had the time to do this and the energy, so like, why not?! I would NOT be writing how I am today if I didn’t have dozens of “practice novels” in the dust behind me. 

Most of these novels are: (A) HORRIBLE because I wrote them when I was, um, smol and deluded, (B) some I’ve actually repurposed bits and pieces into newer novels, (C) they gave me a chance to experiment with so many styles and genres! I learned my favourites and what I didn’t like to write about, and (D) I might still go back to some of them!!

Nothing is wasted. They all taught me.

This doesn’t mean YOU have to write 30 novels before you’re published. The point is: WRITE WRITE WRITE. Don’t just write one book, write more. Don’t except yourself to be excellent now. Practise. If you write and it’s not as good as it was in your head? WRITE SOME MORE. 

And heyyyyy = have fun with this, ok?! I have such fond memories of all these books and characters!

2. I LEARNED HOW TO REWRITE AND EDIT

This follows directly on from the last one but seriously: DO NOT JUST WRITE FIRST DRAFTS. You learn almost everything by rewriting and editing. Books aren’t writing, they’re rewriting. So if you’re dreaming of being an author and you’ve never learned to edit??? Goooo, fiend. GO. This is absolutely where you need to apply yourself.

3. I RESEARCHED PUBLISHING ALL. THE. TIME

People often think researching is sitting down for an hour and Googling around. WELL ACTUALLY. It’s something you kind of need to do…all the time. For years. I didn’t learn about agents and book deals and editing and submissions all at once. I learned it over several years with constant reading of author blogs, agent blogs, tweets, youtube vlogs and teaching sessions, articles, facebook groups, etc. etc. I just SUBMERSED myself in it as much as possible.

YES I asked real people questions…but mostly I learned by reading the information available online. There’s a lot. It’s hard to know where to start, but soon you click on one thing that leads to another and another and VOILA. You are gathering information. (You don’t have to do this ALL in one day!! So don’t be overwhelmed!)

PRO TIP: Don’t ask me “how do I get published” if you’ve never never researched for yourself. #siiiiigh (But I am VERY MUCH HERE to answer specific questions if you have them! And providing I can actually help!)

4. I LEARNED TO HUSH MY LITTLE SELF AND LISTEN

This is actually hard because you NEED to learn to listen and take on advice…but you also can’t listen too much. Like sometimes I absolutely freak out (STILL!!) because there’s so much to learn and know and remember and EVERYONE’S ADVICE CONTRADICTS. What can I write?? What can I not write?? Do you want this type of agent? Should you pitch? Query? Hire an editor? Get sensitivity readers? What country should you aim for? Should your debut be a series or standalone? Is your style marketable? If you get anxious about all of this, will you turn into a lizard? DoES ANYONE KNOW WHAT THEY’RE DOINGGGGGGG.

Anyway. It’s a trip to figure all that out.

But it’s still important to: 

• Listen to what agents tell you (nope you are NOT the exception to a rule)
• Listen to what readers are saying (because they will point out things you didn’t think about, especially regarding content if you’re writing something not directly in your experience)
• Listen to what your writing buddies are saying (and GET SOME if you don’t have any! Seriously you can’t pick up all the problems with your novel yourself. There are always things that get left in your head and don’t make it to paper like they should. FEED BACK IS 100% THE BEST THING. Don’t be scared of it. Don’t hate it.)
• Listen to the trees. Most people say “why would you do that” but seriously you can say it’s important to sit in a forest and listen to the trees but in reality you can just take a nap. You deserve a nap. We all deserve a nap.

5. I READ UNTIL MY EYEBALLS FELL OUT

I can’t even saaaaay how important reading is! These are your BEST TEACHERS. If you ever get stuck with writing (“how the heck do I write an action scene?!”) read back through like 5 or so of your favourite books’ action scenes. ANALYSE them. You can do this for any type of scene! Dialogue. Characterisation. Description. Let books TEACH YOU.

You also need to read so you know (a) what’s overdone or trending or popular or avoided (probably for good reasons!), (b) what’s happening amongst your bookish peers, and (c) because it stops you turning into a goblin who eats children at night.

Also 10/10 you can buy books for “work now”. This is perfect. Nothing can go wrong.

  

 

what’s the best writing advice you’ve been given?! and do you prefer 1st drafts or doing rewrites/edits??

If you want to learn how to write a novel outline, then WELL DONE. You’re at the right place.

People constantly ask me how I write so fast and my truest answer is always: DARK MAGIC. Um, sorry…I just…sometimes my fingers slip on the keyboard and it’s a bit awkward? Anyway. My truest answer is: OUTLINES.

As soon as I say that, the human (or robot, like I don’t judge) asking me immediately follows up with, “Oh so how do you write an outline?”

And I just…

I mean…

I have no idea.

So in honour of having no idea, I thought I’d write a post on my outlining process. This seems reasonable. Unfortunately for me, about 99% of my “writing process” is just doing. I have a very hard time explaining what I’m doing. But here I am. Sacrificing my weak braincells for you.

Now obviously there are many ways to go about writing a novel.

No you do not have to outline to be a successful writer. I’ll quickly list a few of the other writer’s life options:

 

• PLOTTER: You write outlines and plan very meticulously. Usually a method used by control freaks and those pretentious people who like to use words like “meticulously”. (AKA IT’S ME.)
• PLANSTER: You write bare-bones outlines. Which is maybe a few paragraphs or a page with a vague direction. Like go forward three paces and turn left at the blue tree and don’t die if you please.
• PANSTER: You write what comes to you as it comes. Just wing it, mate. Something will fly out (tears?) and this process is guaranteed to be full of creative freedom. People who pick this one usually hate rules and never wear matching socks.
• WEIRD COUSIN: You do all three of these methods at once. Usually done by people who have no idea what they’re doing and eat quite a lot of chocolate brownies in the name of “writing”. Ha. I see you. I understand you. Can I have some too.

OTHER WRITING POSTS YOU MIGHT LIKE

  

Now let me explain my outlining process to you with a lot of tears and existential crises.

(In time for NaNo too! Look at me being punctual!)

Because see I do not go with the Snowflake Method or Skeleton Outlines or Mind Maps or Index Cards or 3-Act Structures. I’m influenced, but I legit have no method except what I like to call:

THE MOVIE TRANSCRIPTION PUZZLE BOX

It doesn’t make any sense, just how it should be.

Please only try this at home with adult supervision when you need to use the oven or stove. Be safe, kids.

FIRST I COME UP WITH THE PREMISE OF MY STORY.

It can be anything from something small…like I want to write about, say, witches. Or something with a little more direction, like I want to write a Van Gogh retelling. But my #1 thing is to PICK something. I don’t generally wait for inspiration to club me in the back of the head in a dark alley. I know people are all for freedom of creativity and letting their characters take over the story. But I’m not like that! And that’s OK! Being different is OK! *

I prefer to use 32% inspiration and 68% decision.

I also will note that I want to make a career out of writing, so I do view things through a business brain. NOT to say I follow trends and such (bad idea!!! do not do this!!), but I do analyse if an idea has potential to be sold.

 

* Look I know this is true. My mum told me so when I was little and reenacted the fall of the Roman empire with my dolls.

NOW I FIGURE OUT THE PITCH OF MY STORY.

I sum up my book easily and quickly and interestingly. Mostly so I can tweet about it but ALSO so I get a solid direction of what the point and climax of my story is. <— Important.

I figure out:

• what my characters want to achieve
• what’s going to stop them achieving it
• how their personalities will react to the situations I’m about to throw at their cute heads
• where the story starts and ends

Like currently for my upcoming NaNo story, I knew right up front I wanted a stabby girl and a bubbly boy and they’ll be stuck in a dance contest and hate each other.

Knowing that, next I ask:

• how can I raise the stakes?
• whatever I think of: DOUBLE THAT PAIN, SON.
• so they’ll be on live TV…what if that was super dangerous for them?
• why is it dangerous?
• who are they running from?
• we have a Big Badie opposing them, but what little oppositions can they meet?
• how do the characters sabotage themselves on accident?
• what are their vulnerabilities and tipping points and triggers?

I unwind the story like that. But the biggest and most crucial tings I think of are: (a) what does my character WANT, and (b) how can I stop them from GETTING IT?

Authors are so freaking nice.

Also if you don’t have that figured out, there is a 99% chance your story will read like a directionless soup.

WORK ON YOUR CHARACTERS UNTILL THEY’RE CUTE BUT HOT MESSES.

I’m so all for character-driven books, but I think up my premises first. Then I fit in characters. BECAUSE CHARACTERS ARE HARD. And once you’ve been an idiot like me and written 25+ novels *…your eye twitches and you then cry when you have to think up new people.

THINGS I THINK ABOUT:

• I like making my two narrators personality-opposites so they’ll argue and sass each other to death
• I think up their backstory
• #Make #It #Tragic
• I weave in diversity because that’s important to me (at this point, I mostly pick things I have experience with)
• I develop how that diversity affects their lives
• I NAME THEM WHICH IS SO HARD I CAN’T EVEN WITH HOW HARD THE NAMING THING IS
• I figure out how they’ll change by the end of the novel.

Currently? I have 78% of my outline worked out but no character names. This is the kind of organised structure I have.

Why are you reading this post.

Run while you can.

 

* So I literally just wrote “25+” because I have no freaking clue how many books I’ve written?????

OKAY SO I GOTCHA PREMISE + CHARACTERS…NOW I NEED TO MAKE STUFF HAPPEN.

Here is where the “movie transcript” part of my plotting method comes in.

I do not write anything down yet. I do not break out the index cards or systematic rulers or use the oven for singeing my hair. (ALTHOUGH THAT SOUNDS FUN.)

I proceed to write a “movie” in my head. Epic soundtrack playlist. Cinematography angles. Director commentary. Scene cuts. Blooper reel. The works. I build things as a TV series would, because novel chapters = TV episodes = surprisingly similar.

TV series = you need to have interesting arcs in every episode.
Book = every chapter needs to matter and 500% bonus points if you end each with a mini “cliffhanger” to keep you reading.

I also usually am moving while I do this. Because I think better when I’m in motion, so running, walking, etc. But remember: make !! time !! to !! think !!! Books don’t happen if you don’t MAKE them happen.

“OK, Cait,” you say while firing up the oven because I brought it up so why not, “but how do I come up with the ideas???”

I find that if you cry enough, your tears will form patterns which might look like words and you can use them.

But yet failing that….

I generally work like this:

• Start with imaging action scenes that go with the far-too-upbeat music I’m listening to at the time.
• Ask: “can a contemporary have explosions?”
• Rework contemporary so the answer is: yes.
• I play out a scene and see where my imagination takes the characters.
• If the characters are dUMB GOATS and the scene gets stuck, I rewind and go in a different direction.
• I think of things that amuse me, excite me, or interest me and work them into the story.
• This changes ALL THE TIME, so my books are always full of interesting things. Like right now I’m think of masks, abandoned dance studios, an old pizza place with blood stains on the floor, a dumbly adorable golden retriever, a rich kid who hates being rich, coffee addictions, Instagram, knee injuries and boys doing ballet.
• You can TOTALLY go on pinterest and get inspired by an aesthetic photo and work that in.
• JUST THINK UP STUFF HONESTLY.
• THE POSSIBILITIES ARE ENDLESS.
• USE YOUR GOD GIVEN IMAGINATION.

You can be inspired from what you read and watch too. But bE cAREFUL. Don’t steal. If you find your idea looking suspiciously like something in another book you’ve read…rework it.

Or a leviathan might eat you.

I mean, I don’t know mate, but do you want to take the risk.

But don’t freak out. I read a book about dancing = I want to write a book dancing. They will be NOTHING ALIKE but obviously I was inspired. See?

GET STUCK AT LEAST 54 TIMES.

Because haha haha HAHAHAHHA.

Your brain loves you and wants to see you suffer. Um, excuse me while I get an umbrella for when you cry all over me.

And if you get stuck? Read more books. Watch more movies. Actively DON’T think for a day and then tomorrow actively DO think until you smash that block.

But the delicious thing is: you might get writers block now, but when you’re actually drafting? BOOM. You won’t.

That’s how I write so fast. Because I do the bulk of my “writing” without ever touching my laptop.

[crowd gasps and whispers paperfury is a genius]

By this point I’ve imagined up a lot of scenes. And I haven’t a heckin’ clue where they go.

I do plot out of order. But I never write out of order. I’m about as logically consistent as what happens when you throw a box of marbles in the air.

Anyhow.

I feebly glue all my scenes together and filling in the gaps. Usually if you have a gap TOO big, you can fix it by putting all your characters in a kitchen and making them argue their life plans out over lasagna. 10/10 recommend because this is delicious.

IT’S TIME TO ACTUALLY WRITE!

Because, you know…you’re a writer! Maybe! We hope!

TURN THE OVEN OFF, YOU CHILD, I TALKED TO YOU ABOUT THIS WHY AREN’T YOU FOCUSING.

So the first thing I do is open up Scrivener and cry over it because it’s beautiful.

Yes I have a whole file just for outlines and story ideas. I’ll start a new Scrivener file for the actual project when I start to write it.

Now obviously YOU DO NOT NEED SCRIVENER TO WRITE A NOVEL. And obviously if you talk to me I’m just going to rant about how much I freaking love it. So do whatever, mate. I’m only here to tell you how far gone my brain is I’m doing things

I also have a lot of files for names which helps me 0% when picking one out. I usually just wait for a lightning strike. Which will give me character names or death. Either is OK.

Firstly I write:

• Out that horrid pitch we talked about. So just like 2 sentences or so. DOESN’T HAVE TO BE GOOD. Just functional.
• Then I write a “blurb” or “query”. I write blurbs because I already have an agent hallllllelujah no querying for me.
• But, dude, if you write the blurb BEFORE THE BOOK, you automatically can identify your climax + the thing that makes your story cool. If you DON’T know what makes your story cool or stand out —> your story needs more work.
• Then I might write out a teeny tiny character profile. Mostly stuff like “HE HAS RED HAIR AND BLUE EYES” because I will no doubt change his eye-colour 84 times because I have no memory.
• Obviously I sort my characters into Hogwarts Houses. #Crucial
• I do any specks of teeny tiny research I might need and make notes.

A SMOL WORD ABOUT THE RESEARCH:

I don’t research a lot before first drafts. This is because (a) I don’t know if this draft is going to be any good???! Why waste time on research?!? and (b) I don’t want to bog myself down in details and then NEVER WRITE.

Obviously I’m sensible about this. If I’m going to put someone in hospital, I research their wound a bit. But otherwise I skim where I know I’ll put details later.

THIS IS FIRST DRAFT STUFF. IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE CUTE TRASH.

BOOOOYAH. I write out my outline in bullet point lists.

Because I love lists. Are you reading this post.

Also good time to mention: my outlines are extremely detailed. Not all outlines are! But since this whole blog is about me, here we go.

My outlines look like this:

• Detailed explanation of what goes on in a scene.
• Yes, I’ll even note people’s emotions and maybe a line of dialogue.
• I use bullet point lists because you can’t use knife-point-lists which I think is discriminatory to knives.
• I include the most SALTY AND SASSY COMMENTARY on my own book you can imagine. This is because outlining can be “boring” so I make it more amusing than the actual book.
• IF YOU’RE NOT HAVING FUN, WHAT R U DOING M8.
• I also plan out my first sentence in advance. Because those are hard.
• I usually finish up around 20,000 words which will equal a 100,000 word novel. Which I will then edit the living heck out of because I prefer books to be around 70-80K.

EXAMPLES OF SOME OF MY OUTLINE SKILLS:

From different novels. Not the current one because I’m writing this post instead of outlining it. #ProcrastinationQueen

 

 

 

You sit back and realise you are PREPARED.

I actually have written 10+ outlines this year and only written 6 books. THIS IS NICE. I outline in such detail that I can come back and write the book later. Like….12 years later. TWELVE YERAS IN AZKABAN LATER.

A lot of writers hate outlines for crushing their creative limbs — which is cool. But I personally NEVER get stuck while writing if I have an outline like this. I can also spit out 30,000 words per day. WIN FOR ME, YES?

SO I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS TOUR OF MY MIND.

Yes, it’s OK if you are shaky and need to take a moment. Me too though. The important thing is to find your OWN process and make everything fit with you. But if something here inspires you or you’re delusional enough to say “Yeah I’ll give this a go”…then well done. I’m glad I helped.

(Are you even OK?)

Go forth and outline! There is at least a 4% chance you will not not bite your head off while doing so.

 

tell me about your writing-prep process? do you outline? do you find detailed outlines crush creativity or enhance it? and how do you figure out your ideas?!? is it more decision or inspiration for you?