How Editing Is Like Car Repair

I took my car to the shop last Monday to have the turn signal fixed. Three hours later, they called with The List. You know what List I mean--the one with every possible thing that's wrong with your car, with a horrendously scary price tag attached.

The turn signal was an easy fix, but in their diagnostic test, they discovered my brakes are leaking (knew that) and my oil is leaking (knew that). When they went to fix the door, the realized it wasn't just a quick "reattach the pieces" but the handle was actually broken (didn't know that).

Grand total? $955.

I hesitated for a moment, until I realized that I have the money right now and I had planned to get it all done anyway. If I'm going to fix something, I might as well do a complete job of it.

When I started editing Col. Fitzwilliam, I thought I had one minor problem, but when I dug into it, I quickly realized that my lack of direction was symptomatic of larger problems. I axed an entire plot line, and because of that I had bring in some other elements and completely rearrange the novel. I went from my post-NaNo word count of 51,000 to 34,000 is the space of an evening.

I could have chosen to only  handle one issue at a time. It might have been less intimidating. However, I'd rather cut everything that needs to be cut and move forward with a solid draft. As long as I'm working on it, I might as well do a complete job of it.

Lesson Learned

What happens when you force your story to be something it isn't? What happens when you force yourself to write a genre you're not confident in? You spend three weeks trying to figure out how to edit your book, that's what.

My first, first draft of Colonel Fitzwilliam was primarily a spy novel, with romance thrown in. Halfway through November, I realized I wanted to write more romance, so I split it 50/50. Part of the struggle in editing has been to find where I made that change and how to create one unified book out of all the bits and bobs I've got written. The other struggle is that... well, honestly, I hate the spy parts.


The first assignment on my outline is to write a one-sentence summary of the story. That sentence then serves as a mission statement for the book. Any time you wonder if a scene belongs,  you can measure it up to the summary--does it support the mission of the book? If not, chuck it. I puzzled over the summary for about five minutes, wondering how on earth I could fit both the spy story and the romance into twenty five words or less.

That's when I realized I was going about this from the wrong angle. If I'm not that great at writing spy scenes, and I wanted to write more of the relationship between Georgiana and Richard, then maybe... maybe it didn't have to be a spy novel. Maybe it could be historical romance instead.

I still need to get Richard's spy mission figured out, at least in broad strokes, so I can allude to it throughout the book. However, this is not Lord of the Rings and I am not J. R. R. Tolkien. It's okay if I don't know the last thousand years of Fitzwilliam family history before I begin writing. Historical fiction requires a depth of understanding of the period, not of the characters' back stories. (If that analogy makes no sense to you, well, now you know what goes on in my head.)

I'm still working on the rest of the outline, but it should be much easier now that I know what genre I'm writing.

Identity Crisis

Not me, my book. Yes, I'm still struggling with Colonel Fitzwilliam's story. However, I think I finally figured out why.

I have a very precise method I follow when writing. After I get a new idea, I spend about a month fleshing it out in a very detailed outline. I'm talking scene by scene, who will be there, what important props are used--the works. Then I write the draft in a month of madness known as NaNoWriMo. I take December off and let the draft sit, then I come back to it and begin editing.

I didn't follow that pattern this time around, and I'm paying for it. As has been pointed out, I was a bit busy in the weeks leading up to NaNo this year, so I didn't take the time to outline. I spent the first three days of November trying to shove all the ideas I had about my story into a haphazard storyboard, but that shoddy piece of work fell about around the 10th. I sort of managed to figure out what I wanted to do then and restructured my story... but thanks to the lack of direction at the start, I have several dangling plot lines that no longer belong, and no real awareness of what should stay and what should be cut or moved to a different part of the timeline.

It's time for me to go back to the drawing board. This morning, I'll pull out my trusty copy of Book in a Month and follow that step-by-step outline. I won't skip worksheets, I won't leave anything undone. I have to figure out what my story is before I can figure out how to fix it.

I think I've known from the start that this is what I needed to do. I tried to find other ways to fix the problem, because this is going to take quite a bit of time. I hope to finish the outline by the end of this week, and then I'll need another three weeks or so to go through and move things around. I really don't think this book is going to be ready to publish in September like I wanted, and that disappoints me.

However, it's more important to end up with a book I can be proud of than to end exactly on time. I do hope I can manage to get it published before November though, because I seriously never want to do that craziness again.

Wish me luck!

Sticking With What Works

I started the year with a Plan. I would go through the rough draft of my NaNo novel (Colonel Fitzwilliam), adding the scenes and chapters that I skipped over in November. Then, when the draft was complete, I'd print it out and begin my editing.

January 1st came, and I didn't write. Then the 2nd and the 3rd passed, and soon I'd lost the whole first week of the year. I was now definitely behind schedule--and the schedule is vital, if I'm going to get this book published before the AGM in October.

Finally, I forced myself to open my file on Sunday. I took one look at it and had a full-fledged meltdown. "It's horrible, I can't write, why did I think I could do this," and etc. The whole cycle of panic and calming down took about four hours.

In those four hours, I realized something important. The problem wasn't my book or my writing. I was trying to force my brain to work in a way that it does not. I can't look at a book and begin adding and fixing without first getting a solid grasp on what's wrong and how I can fix it. Looking at it without the list, all I could see was the insurmountable task of finding the broken bits--like needles in a haystack. (Okay, they are probably very large needles, but just as unfindable to me.)

The funny thing is I did this last year too. I spent all of December thinking I would dig in on edits for His Good Opinion without first reading the draft. I realized my error after Christmas and sent my book to my Kindle, then spent January reading and taking notes.

That's what I've done now. The NaNo draft of Colonel Fitzwilliam is on my Kindle, and after reading only two chapters I discovered a few things, much to my relief. I can write, my book doesn't suck, and I actually love my main character.

So, my point is this: If there's something that works for you, don't try to change it. I thought this other method would be more efficient, but wasting a whole week because I was too scared to look at my story is not efficient. Now that I'm doing things my way, I should be able to get this read-through done by the end of the week--which actually puts me ahead of my original schedule.
 

101 Things--Update!

I haven't blogged about my list of 101 things in several months. It seems almost cliche to talk about goals in the first week of January, but here I am.

Obviously, I knocked several things off the list in November. I published His Good Opinion and started work on my next novel, the as-yet untitled Colonel Fitzwilliam story. I began reworking that story on Sunday, and I can't wait to see how it turns out--and what it ends up being called. (Offer your suggestions in the comments!)

This month, I want to finish off the organization category. I think that'll set me up in a much better position to tackle some of the FiNancy goals in February and March. Oh, this is just so boring boring boring, but these domestic things are a part of life too, aren't they?

In a more fun vein, I'm knocking off Shakespeare's plays right and left. I've been listening to them on my way to and from work, and I'm really enjoying it. I've also begun another fun reading challenge, which I'll share with y'all next Thursday.

What kind of goals do you have for the year? Are you going to spread them out over 12 months, or will you try to do everything at once?



His Good Opinion can be purchased in e-book format from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, Amazon UK, Amazon DE, and Amazon FR. The paperback is available from Amazon.

Enjoying the Ride

Fall is finally here. This is my absolute favorite time of the year: everything I love most is packed into the space of about four months, starting with October and the changing leaves.

However, last week Jessica did a blog post on countdowns, and I realized exactly how much I've got going on this fall.

• Finish my final edits for His Good Opinion and send it to an editor
• Assimilate those edits and send it to a proofer
• Assimilate the proofs and format the book for sale
• November is NaNoWriMo--I'll be writing my next novel, focusing on Colonel Fitzwilliam
• I'm one of Vancouver's Municipal Liaisons for NaNo, so I'm busy planning events right now.
• Launch my book

And that doesn't even take things like the holidays and my birthday (Feb. 2) into account. When Jess said Christmas was 100 days away, I did panic for just a minute. 

Then I realized something: These are all good things! I love being an ML, even with all the extra work that goes along with it. (This year, I'm also mentoring new MLs... another thing, but it'll be fun.) I can't imagine a November without NaNoWriMo, so even though it might be crazy to write one book while publishing my first, I'm going to do it anyway. And of course, all the various bits of the publishing process will be time-consuming, but HELLO! By the end of November, I will be able to hold my book in my hands! 

So I'm going to take the advice I gave Jess. "Pretend it's a ride at Disneyland. The ride operator has buckled you in, and you just have to sit back and enjoy." 

Are you hanging on to your hats, friends? 'Cause this here is the wildest ride in the wilderness.

A Hot Man Is Hard... To Write

Earlier this summer, I decided I needed a hashtag for His Good Opinion. I wanted something short, and that summed up the book. My amazing beta reader (and Indiejane.org cohort) Jessica Melendez suggested #hotdarcy, and after several humorous tweets with suggestions for future books (#SexyFitzwilliam and #takeitoffWentworth, collectively known as #regencystriptease), #hotdarcy stuck.

To the confusion of some readers, this is not because there are hot, steamy love scenes in my book. Rather, the comment, "OMG hot!" is one of Jess' ways to let me know I've nailed Darcy's character. Let's face it--Darcy is hot.

Later, she read another story of mine from a different fandom and commented that I like to write from the male perspective, and it's true. The question that came in the following Twitter chat was this: "How do you, as a woman, write in a man's voice?"

The answer is deceptively easy, my friends. I don't think about writing in a man's voice; I think about writing in Darcy's voice. That's the same way I can write dialogue that sounds right for any character. After all, I've never been a nervous, easily agitated woman desperate to marry her daughters off, but some of my favorite lines are ones I've given Mrs. Bennet.

Voice is not about gender, profession, age, or nationality. Voice is about character. This of course is the difficult part. When you put a character together, you do need to know their gender, profession, age, and nationality, because those things are a part of who they are. However, you have to know this person, as an individual. It's that knowing, that intimacy, that creates dialogue that sounds genuine.

Of course, some gratuitous #hotdarcy action never hurt either.

Build Your Own Austenesque Novel: The Hard Part

Week 1: Set-up

Week 2: Conflict

Week 3: Character

Week 4: Change

So, we've all decided what kind of Austenesque novel would work for us. We've talked about the 3 Cs of plot: Conflict that forces your Character to Change. By now, you should have a basic story idea in mind.

What next?

If you're a plotter like me, you'll spend the next few weeks playing around the idea, figuring out exactly how your story will happen. You might check out books like Book in a Month, which help you flesh out your ideas. 

If you're a pantser like some other writers I know, you'll let the idea sit in the back of your mind, and somehow (in a method that is as mythical as magic to me), your plot will spring up from the ether. You might be helped by No Plot? No Problem! 

But even a fully developed outline isn't a book. Eventually, you have to sit down and write. That's where National Novel Writing Month comes in.

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.org,) is a crazy challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in 30 days. This will be my tenth year participating, and my fourth year leading my local region. As November approaches, I'll be blogging occasionally about NaNo and all the ways it can help a writer.

For you, the biggest help it offers is a deadline. You've got a story idea, now you have a time offered to write it. When the new season starts in October, I will post a thread for Austenesque authors, likely in the historical fiction forum. Be sure to check back here and on IndieJane.org, as I'll definitely be posting the link as soon as it's up.

Oh, and if you're wondering--yes, I will be writing my Col. Fitzwilliam story this year during NaNo. His Good Opinion was my 2008 NaNo novel, and I'll be publishing it this November. November and NaNo play a large part in my life as a writer.

Happy noveling, my Austenesque friends.

Build Your Own Austenesque Novel: Change

Week 1: The Set-up
Week 2: Conflict
Week 3: Character

Change is the essence of plot. Your characters go from point A to point B and are changed by the journey. Sometimes, even your setting is changed--Lord of the Rings is an example of a story where the entire world is changing.

In Jane Austen's world, nowhere is this concept of change more evident than in Darcy. His whole appeal really centers on his willingness to change, to become a man who knows how to please a woman.

Change is also the absolute hardest thing to write, in my opinion. Usually, when you start the story you know where your character will be at the beginning and the ending. The path of getting them there can be difficult to chart. For instance, I struggled with Darcy's post-Hunsford disposition. How long did he hang on to his resentment? When did he first begin to see things in a different light, and what sparked that change?

Change should be gradual and natural, something that flows out of your story. It is the effect of your plot, not the cause. Remember, plot = conflict that forces your character to change. Conflict is the cause, change is the effect.

In my Colonel Fitzwilliam novel, the Colonel starts out very sure of himself. However, much of his confidence in his ability to read people--very important in a career as a spy--disappears when he realizes he was betrayed. That is the first change. The second happens later, when the heroine confronts him over it. That sets up the secondary conflict surrounding the romance, which forces the third change and ends with the complete transformation of Fitzwilliam.

Do you know where you want to take your characters? Do you have an idea of the path they'll follow that will seem realistic to the readers? They don't have to be the same characters we know and love at the end of the book as they are at the beginning, but if you're going to change them, you need to show us every decision along the way that leads to their transformation.

Be the change... Um, perhaps that doesn't work so well for fiction. ;)

Build Your Own Austenesque Novel: Character

Week 1: The Set-up
Week 2: Conflict

Character development is at the heart of any novel, but it's crucial when you're writing fanfiction. Your readers are already intimately familiar with your characters. Does the way you portray them match up with the version they have in their heads?

First, a caveat. No two people will see a character in exactly the same light. Part of your job as a writer is to believe enough in your version of the character that the reader will accept it, even if it's not the way they saw them before. Your words must carry enough authority that they will lay aside their own thoughts and opinions long enough to enjoy your story. Perhaps in the process they might even change their minds.

That aside, there are certain things we know about Austen's characters. If you stray too far from accepted reality--say, if Mr. Darcy is suddenly acting more like Henry Crawford than himself--you will lose the reader.

His Good Opinion was enjoyable to write largely because I simply immersed myself in Darcy's character. A version of him took up residence in my head--I call him the Darcy in my Head. DIMH gave me flawless advice about what he would do next, and what he was actually thinking at various points in the story. Examining the slow process of his transformation into a man "capable of pleasing a woman worthy of being pleased" both exasperated and delighted me.

Colonel Fiztwilliam is very different from his cousin. In my story, he is the youngest of three siblings. The nagging of his older brother and sister and the constant fretting and worrying of his mother are part of what propelled him into military service. He is confident and sure of himself, and not unaware of the effect his uniform has on the female sex.

Which characters are you focusing on? Do you have a solid picture in your mind of who they are at the beginning of the novel?

Build Your Own Austenesque Novel: Conflict

Now that you've chosen the basic scenario for your novel, the next step is to determine the plot. At this point, it helps to remember the 3 Cs of plot: Plot = Conflict that forces your Character to Change.

Conflict is easier for some types of Austenesque novels than others--POV and AU novels should be able to simply tweak the conflict in Austen's original work, though you will of course see those events differently through the lens of your particular character or alternate universe. However, if you're writing a sequel or a variation, you will have to choose a conflict yourself.

A word to variation authors: Many fanfiction writers start writing from a desire to get their favorite characters past the roadblocks more quickly. For instance, you might wish Elizabeth never heard Darcy's initial insult or that Wentworth returned in 1810. However, Jane created those problems for one very good reason: without conflict, there is no plot. Conflict is what drives the story. If you eliminate one difficulty, you must create another.

Since His Good Opinion is told from Darcy's POV, the basic conflict in Pride and Prejudice is expressed differently. I increased the stakes by showing, in detail, how his impression of events is so far from how Elizabeth perceived them. For instance, at the Netherfield Ball when she can barely speak a civil word to him because of his behavior to Wickham, he thinks... well, here. I'll let you read it.

Darcy glanced at his watch one last time. Guests had begun arriving over half an hour ago, and he had purposely delayed his own entrance in order to avoid the Bennet family. For Mrs. Bennet surely saw to it they were among the first to arrive.

He walked through the open doors, and all his good intentions were lost. Elizabeth Bennet stood not ten feet away. Her back was to him, and though Darcy told himself to turn away, to pretend he had not seen her, he could not.

She took his breath away. The delicate fabric of her ball gown revealed more of the lithe lines of her figure than he had previously seen, and the candlelight caught and reflected off the jewels in her hair.

 Darcy approached her slowly, gauging his own reaction. Only when he was certain he could maintain his usual reserve did he speak. "Miss Elizabeth?"

She turned, and he wondered if perhaps he had overestimated his own control. Up close, he could see the smooth texture of her creamy skin, and he clenched a fist to keep himself from taking her hand to see if it felt as satiny as it looked.

"Yes, Mr. Darcy?"

He flushed at the question in her voice; how long had he stood without saying a word? "I trust the weather has not dampened your sprits this evening?"

He thought her smile was a little forced, but as he himself struggled to find enjoyment in balls, he did not wonder at it. "You will find, sir, that I rarely allow anything to interfere with my enjoyment."

He bowed and walked away to hide the emotions those words stirred in him. "You will find…" Could this possibly be a hint that she would welcome further attentions from me? Darcy had thought himself immune to her charms, inured against them by the knowledge of her family connections. However, the idea that she would encourage his suit enthralled him, and none of his previous arguments held any weight.

His belief of her affections grows during their stay in Kent, and by the time we get to his first proposal, you might actually feel sympathetic for him, despite the fact that he actually deserves most of Elizabeth's anger.

The conflict in my Colonel Fitzwilliam story revolves around his career as a spy. He's betrayed by someone he trusts, and the resulting disaster makes him unwilling to trust himself. The heroine has to get past his mountain of self-recriminations to prove he's worthy of her trust, and thus, her love.

What kind of monkey wrenches would you throw at our beloved Austen characters?