Where's your focus?

Seems that today people are dividing into two different groups: those who are career focused and those who are project focused.

I hope that writers are project focused. It's too easy to get distracted by thinking "I am a writer," but then never writing. Then comes the critic yelling, "You can't call yourself a writer. You're not writing! Writers write. So if you're not, then quit calling yourself a writer."

But if you focus instead on your projects - those manuscripts you keep dreaming about doing - put a deadline on them for getting them done, then you start focusing on the building blocks of your career. These get done. Books and articles get written. Before you know it, not only will you be a writer, but you'll "have written" as well.

Writing in Layers

I was asked recently how far into book 2 I was, if I'd even started writing it yet. While I admit that I've spent a lot of time formatting the first book, yes, I'm currently on writing the second book and am in chapter 12. So does that mean I'm almost halfway done? No!

Part of the time I spent writing this whole story has been just writing draft after draft. If anyone thinks that writing a fantasy novel is easy, well, it's not. If you're creating your own world like I did, you've got to think about culture, politics, religion, clothes, language, food, interactions with friends and family, planetary orbits -- in other words, everything! Sometime I'll talk about the different kinds of universes a world can be set in -- it's actually an online seminar I gave a long time ago. I spent a lot of time just getting to know my world and test things.

But once I knew the story, the actual writing came down to writing this story in layers. It's too hard to remember all the rules of writing at once. That's why manuscripts are created in drafts.

I admit. I was once a 15 year old author who thought every word I wrote was golden. I'm so glad now that I didn't actually get published then. I wasn't ready. I didn't have the life experiences I needed, nor did I really understand the craft of writing. Oh, I wrote drafts, but I didn't understand their purpose. I thought I did. I was so wrong.

It wasn't until I really experimented with writing different types of manuscripts (romance, children's, screenplays, short stories, etc.) that I realized that I was decent at writing dialog and immediate actions. Descriptions and pacing were other issues.

When I decided to change this to a graphic novel so I'd only have to write quick descriptions and dialog, all of a sudden my job felt easier (okay, drawing the dang thing is another issue!). I flew through writing the story this way. Talking heads, okay, I can do that.

Then, while I was drawing the story, I got an itching to write the novelization. Fine. A novelization. Writing a book was a hard project, but writing a novelization of the graphic novel much simpler.

Using what I had, I came back to the story. Now, all I had to do was add a little bit of setting and some more actions to the basics that I already had. After that, another draft to add a bit more. A few tweaks to the story in the next couple drafts. Soon, I'd been through it several times and added a little more each time.

As I built the layers, I would go through and try to apply "rules of writing" as I went. I'd try to note places where I was telling the story instead of showing it. I'd mix setting in with the dialog to break up the talking heads, but I'd also try to mix the setting into the action as to not stop the story.


Now, sitting on the other side of editing and having my proof copy in hand, I can tell you that there is something else I wish I'd done -- one more layer I'd gone through. I wish I'd actually printed out my story and run an editing draft on paper. I tried to do it all on my computer to be green and save the environment, but now I see that the paper draft would've helped me see a few things I missed. I'm not going to hold up the release of the book though I keep wondering if I should. I do see things that are wrong (and at this point I've only managed to read through chapter three). Of course, they may only bug me because I know better. After all, I've seen what passes as a published book these days -- books where the word "was" is a special candy to be used as many times in a sentence as possible like it was some fancy drug. But this is a lesson learned and I'm sure I'll have more to impart later. I plan on putting out a free PDF about the lessons I learned in writing The Three Books which will have these handy tips and more. I figure that'll be released in a few weeks.

In the meanwhile, if you have any questions about writing in layers (or any writing questions at all) let me know. I'd love to know what writing issues you're facing and maybe (because I have 35 years of writing experience) I can help point you in the right direction. But you can't get help if you don't ask.

A Little Word Known as "Was"

I'll tell you now, I have a hatred for the word "was." Such a little word, get every time it crops up its tiny head, I want to scream.

Here's a challenge. Pick up any fiction book you have by you. Go to the beginning, regardless of where you're currently at in the book and start reading. How long until you find a "was" in the text?

I'm better you encountered at least one in the first paragraph. Go on, tell me I'm right!

Here's a secret about "was" -- nearly every time you see it, it's a red flag that the story is being told not shown.

"Was" is the the linking of hands between the reader and the writer where the writer takes over and guides the reader down the path. "Oh gentle reader, take my hand, and let me tell you a tale of murder most foul." Worse, it assumes that the reader is too ignorant to figure out the story if the reader wasn't being told.

So I set up a challenge to myself in The Three Books. I swore that I wasn't going to use the word "was" in the narrative. You'll find it in the dialog - mostly because I wasn't going to change how these people speak just to get rid of my pet peeve -- that would be another crime. So, as you're reading, just see how long it takes you to find the word "was" in the narrative. Here's a hint. You won't find it until the very last sentence. Oh, and yes, that was me being a little spiteful.

I challenge writers to kill the word "was" from their manuscripts as I have in The Three Books. I'll tell you, it wasn't always easy and there were a couple times I thought about breaking my rule -- "Oh, just this once because I can't figure out what to write." There are still a couple spots I find shaky because it probably does need the inconspicuous little beast. I admit my surprise at how often it crept in even when trying hard to write without it to begin with.

Strangely enough, it doesn't bother me as much in nonfiction. I do cringe when I read my own blog posts and see every "was" in there. But nonfiction is more meant to be told -- it's a passing along of information and since you and I are separated by space and time, I'm not there to actually show you the information I'm trying to pass on. Still, I do try to get rid of it whenever I can.

So, here we stand with just over a day left until the release of The Three Books and I'm here to tell you that it's a book with only a single narrative "was" to it. I've taken my challenge and I've succeeded at least on that scale. I won't say the writing's perfect. Oh, heck no. I even thought about delaying the release when I found issues in my proof copy. But I decided to get the story out there -- the story is more important than the writing specifics anyway. So, go enjoy the story.

As for me killing "was" in the second book just to see if I can repeat this success, I'm not sure if it's a challenge I want to rise to or not. To do it once seems like enough. But... have I set a standard now? What do you think?

Think Only As You Can Think

I subscribe to Notes from the Universe from Mike Dooley at TUT.

Aside from me being very jealous that he's got the cool domain name (I'm a big fan of King Tut!), I love getting the Notes, especially when there's one that strikes a chord.

Today, I received just such a message. Here's my message for today:


It's the way you think. That's your purpose. It's never been about what work you choose, what gifts you develop, or what niche you fill - let these be for your pleasure.

Think as only you can think, which will lead to feelings that only you can feel, from which connections will be made, lives will be changed, and worlds will come tumbling into existence.


As writers, we have something we want to tell people, whether it's about a character, a theme, a message, or just a story. It is born inside us and needs to come out. I really liked the part about worlds tumbling into existence. Even if your story isn't a fantasy, you create a world. It starts off in your head. It is your thoughts that begin it. From there, yes, it is something you start to feel because from those thoughts manifest a change within you (and change always evokes an emotional response). Just as people then seek out like-minded friends, writers create like-minded characters to populate their stories. Of course, then comes the foes and foils that stand against the character(s) and thus the world is born. In that moment of being able to sink into that world that is entirely the writer's own, pure bliss is discovered.

I've likened this to a hole in the paper -- I've often told writing friends of mine that there is a hole somewhere on the paper (or screen for those of us who write on computer now -- it wasn't always this way though!) and you just need to find that hole to slip through to the other side. Once you're through and you're soaking in the world you created, don't you just feel like you're home? I do. Maybe that's why I get so cranky and have a tendency to throw things when someone disturbs me while I'm writing! Could it be? For me, being yanked out of my world is like being dropped from a hangman's noose. That choking, suffocating drop. Yep, just thinking about it makes me irritated! Always leaves me with the "I want to go home!" feeling.



Now I admit, the last few days have been really hard because I've been working very hard on getting my manuscript formated for publication (Boy do I have stories about that, but you'll hear them later). So I've been several days now without writing or painting. I can feel myself getting antsy because I want to get back in the game, yet I know this is a process I have to go through. In some ways, it's also been good because I've had time to work on my projects just in my head (what I want to paint next and the composition of the piece, as well as a change I need to make in the second storyline of Sacred Knight, which is going to mean a rewrite/edit, but not a severe one). It's been nice to have a moment to see an overview of all my thoughts. Maybe it was TUT that inspired me to look beyond what I was seeing.

And speaking of Tut, I was also thinking about my plans for the next few years. I know Sacred Knight will keep me occupied for a little bit (ha ha! 4 story arcs, busy for a bit, you think?! Especially if #1 son has his way and talks my subconscious into creating another arc or 2). However, there is also an Egyptian historical fantasy that's lingering around. I was just talking about that story over this last weekend. Maybe it's a sign that it's going to be next on my list. There's also my genie story that I've actually been working on longer than Sacred Knight (yes stories need time to percolate, some more than others). Not to mention the story I was working on right before I was struck with Sacred Knight.

Or maybe they were all meant to be manuscripts forever hidden away beneath my bed. Never meant to be seen by anyone.

I guess it depends on if I can find those holes again and slip back into those stories.

Well, I guess I'll just have to think about it and see if worlds come tumbling out.