Pretty sure there were a bunch of things told at me when I revealed I was writing my first book. Don't get me wrong, I love advice (hence making a whole blog in the hopes of helping others), but unsolicited advice can be, well, frustrating. Especially when it's approached as the only way to do something right.
I've said it time and time again (and it will remain true until the end of time): every writer is different. What works for me might not work for you, and every book process will probably change.
That being said, there was some advice that I ignored off the bat because of the way it was said. It was good advice, and I should have taken it, but the fact that the person telling me was saying that I had to do it their way made me shove it aside. (And also, sometimes I was proud and didn't think I needed their help. LOL)
So, here are some things that I wish I had done with my first book but didn't.
Take the time to plan.
This was kind of a trial and error thing, but I didn't do much planning before I started to write. And then I learned how much of a plotter I am. I had a rough outline, but I didn't have character notes, I didn't have worldbuilding notes, I didn't have a map, etc.
The rough outline got me through a first draft, but because it was all I had, my MC had almost six different goals. She was very hard to relate to, and it took me way more drafts than I normally need to try to condense it down to one main goal.
If I had been thinking, I would have had character sheets a nd a fuller outline at the least. So, if you think you even might be a plotter, I recommend taking some time to figure out your characters and your story before you but pen to page (or fingers to keys?).
Don't lose your notes.
I'm still notorious for this, but I am getting better.
Sometimes inspiration strikes in the middle of a grocery store and all you have is that napkin you kept from lunch. In these instances, it's more important to get the idea down than to try and hold onto it so you can put it in the right place. My recommendation is to put it in the proper place as soon as you can.
Otherwise, you end up like me, remembering that there was some really cool note you made but you just can't seem to find it.
Make a Book Binder.
This ties into the earlier point: have a place for everything. A Book Binder doesn't have to be a physical printed thing, but it can be. If you like to use Scrivener, it's an excellent resource for this because it keeps everything in one place for you.
If you're like me and you prefer good old Microsoft Word, it's important to keep all the documents pertaining to a certain project in one place. I create a new folder for each project, and within that folder I have one for background information (character sheets, outline, research, etc.), one for feedback--once I get to handing it out, one for each version/draft I write, and one for query docs.
This method is super important if you're planning on writing a series. I thought that I would just remember the big information--that was before I started working on multiple projects.
One writer I follow makes a final document at the end of writing that includes every character mentioned/named, and every place, even if it wasn't integral to the plot. This allows her to go back and make sure she's not reusing names, she can recall who everyone is with a single glance (instead of having to skim her entire book). It just saves time.
Don't be like me; think ahead.
Back up your work.
Seriously, do it now. Most of my projects are saved in two or three places. I typically have them saved to my computer, my external hard drive, and Google Docs. That way, if my computer crashes while my hard drive is plugged in (power surge or something), I can still access those files from a different computer through Google Docs. It means I don't have to slow down while they try to remove files from a dead computer.
When I was in college, my laptop totally died. Like, no power, screen wouldn't turn on, died. I thought I lost my book. And I would have if I didn't have the best techy friends on the planet.
But I know writers who weren't so lucky; friends who have lost entire projects and had to start from scratch. It is not fun when months to years of work disappear in a breath.
Storyboard.
I've talked a bit about this before, but it's honestly one the most helpful methods that I've picked up over the years.
Storyboarding is when you take each scene/chapter, write down the things that happen in summary, and then step back and look at your project as a visual. This can show you pacing (Where do certain pieces of information come in? When does something need to be foreshadowed? How are the romance beats fitting? etc.) so that you can adjust. It puts your story into digestible pieces.
I've realized in some projects that I was bringing in worldbuilding in the first few chapters that didn't become applicable until the third act. By that point, the reader has probably forgotten, I've probably forgotten. It's more useful for pacing to remove that bit from the beginning and to place it closer to when it's actually necessary to know.
Be realistic.
This was a bit hard because I had never written a book before. But I was convinced that I could have it ready to query in a year.
LOL
It's been three and I'm just feeling like it's ready now. In that time, I've learned a lot.
I wish that I had been able to see the work that needed to be done at the beginning, but I was a newb. This isn't so much about not making goals, but about finding people who will be honest with you (in a polite way) about how much work is needed.
I know now how long it takes me to do a revision, what kind of notes I need to have before I write, how fast I can draft, and so I can make more realistic timelines.
Some people can make this happen. They can write a book in a few weeks, revise it super fast, and have it out to query (Veronica Roth's Divergent is a great example of this), but that is not a common story.
Totally make goals, work toward them, but also know that things might take longer than you expect. And sometimes we just have to learn to be okay with that.
Don't delete anything. (Or throw it out, if you're using notebooks.)
Seriously, this one changed my life. It's sometimes hard to cut scenes we know need to go because we poured our blood, sweat, and tears into those words. So, instead, just cut and paste.
I started keeping a separate document for "deleted scenes." Even if it's just a few lines, I'll paste them into the new doc in consecutive order so that I can go back to them. Sometimes we've already written solutions to our problems, they just didn't fit in an earlier draft.
Not only does this make it easier to move on, but you keep good content in the process.
I hope some of this will be useful to someone. This is the kind of information that I wish I had when I was starting out, but I didn't have writer friends. I didn't know what it took to get a book ready.
But what have you learned? What's something you wish you knew starting out?
Happy writing,
Erin
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