I know last week I stated I was planning on delving into short stories in order to practice my writing and to get more examples of my work in circulation, possible increasing website traffic. I still am keenly interested in doing this, but to be honest, it hasn't happened yet. For once, this isn't due to any laziness or distraction on my part (hey, I write science fiction because playing video games becomes "research"). Actually, I haven't been able to do any short story work because my second book is coming along at a staggering pace--10,000 words a week, minimum! There are several reasons for this rate of progress, so I wanted to share the primary drivers.
Firstly, writing is just like any other skill. The more you do it, and the more frequently you work on, the better you will be at it. If you have an idea for a story, don't waste time mulling it over in your head. The sooner you start actually writing, the faster you'll gain the skills you need to write effectively. More to the point: when you first start writing you'll waste a lot of time figuring out how you want to say things. Getting over that hump and filling a toolbox with expressions, adjectives, and turns of phrase will greatly increase the effectiveness and speed of your writing.
Another point I didn't appreciate until recently was my focus. This actually comes in two forms: my focus within a certain time period, and the overall focus of the book. Because I've worked on a schedule and pushed myself to write for longer periods, I'm able to settle in and focus on the work at hand, minimizing distractions and enjoying the process as I develop my craft. In dealing with the focus of the book, this comes from the benefit of now being on my second novel. Going into my first story, I only had a general idea of what I wanted the book to be about, and who the characters were. It was sort of a drifting gas cloud, that you could see and comprehend, but couldn't really fill in. In writing that book, I learned to look ahead, planning upcoming portions of the book as I was writing, as opposed to early on when I had to write, stop, think, write, stop, etc. The plot, characters, and details of the second book come much more naturally, and so writing sessions are almost non-stop writing, with occasional Scotch breaks to read over a particularly good line.
Lastly, planning was a factor in my progress as well. As I was nearing the end of my first manuscript, I was already brainstorming ideas for my second, and had an overall theme and direction to go with. When my first book was done, I was able to take those concepts and spend a relatively short time outlining the book itself (in loose terms), after which I just fell into the writing. This will be even more interesting to explore in my third book, which is currently an idea and a paragraph, but comparatively is being started on earlier than any of my other works.
In other news, my second novel now has a title, "Unto Persephone." I'll be taking time this week to build out the portion of the site that will house a blurb on it, and I'm currently picking out some excerpts to post. I think everyone will find it an interesting and enjoyable read.
A.C. Harrison
Support indie authors! Like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Firstly, writing is just like any other skill. The more you do it, and the more frequently you work on, the better you will be at it. If you have an idea for a story, don't waste time mulling it over in your head. The sooner you start actually writing, the faster you'll gain the skills you need to write effectively. More to the point: when you first start writing you'll waste a lot of time figuring out how you want to say things. Getting over that hump and filling a toolbox with expressions, adjectives, and turns of phrase will greatly increase the effectiveness and speed of your writing.
Another point I didn't appreciate until recently was my focus. This actually comes in two forms: my focus within a certain time period, and the overall focus of the book. Because I've worked on a schedule and pushed myself to write for longer periods, I'm able to settle in and focus on the work at hand, minimizing distractions and enjoying the process as I develop my craft. In dealing with the focus of the book, this comes from the benefit of now being on my second novel. Going into my first story, I only had a general idea of what I wanted the book to be about, and who the characters were. It was sort of a drifting gas cloud, that you could see and comprehend, but couldn't really fill in. In writing that book, I learned to look ahead, planning upcoming portions of the book as I was writing, as opposed to early on when I had to write, stop, think, write, stop, etc. The plot, characters, and details of the second book come much more naturally, and so writing sessions are almost non-stop writing, with occasional Scotch breaks to read over a particularly good line.
Lastly, planning was a factor in my progress as well. As I was nearing the end of my first manuscript, I was already brainstorming ideas for my second, and had an overall theme and direction to go with. When my first book was done, I was able to take those concepts and spend a relatively short time outlining the book itself (in loose terms), after which I just fell into the writing. This will be even more interesting to explore in my third book, which is currently an idea and a paragraph, but comparatively is being started on earlier than any of my other works.
In other news, my second novel now has a title, "Unto Persephone." I'll be taking time this week to build out the portion of the site that will house a blurb on it, and I'm currently picking out some excerpts to post. I think everyone will find it an interesting and enjoyable read.
A.C. Harrison
Support indie authors! Like me on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
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