Ready, Set, Write: What I Accomplished During a Five-Day Writing Sprint

 

Ivan S/Pexels

I’ve mentioned here before that I’m most productive during writing sprints. While I write non-fiction almost daily (thanks to my blog and true crime podcast), I struggle to set time aside for my fiction projects. I blame at lot of that on fatigue—as I’m getting older, I’m not as motivated to write late into the night. I have more physical and creative energy during the daylight hours. But because I’m on a weekly schedule for my podcast, I prioritize the research and writing in the non-fiction space. 

Last week I looked at my calendar and noticed I had a five-day block where I didn’t have to work much at my part-time job and I’m currently taking a short break from the podcast. I told myself I would finally try to make progress on my next novel, a contemporary time-loop story targeted at women in their late 40s, which I outlined with the help of a critique partner last year. I didn’t have a set goal of words I wanted to write other than I simply wanted to break past my writer’s block and make progress, any progress! 

With a clean house (so I couldn’t distract myself with chores) I assessed what I had in the document already before I got started, which was around 2,500 words. I’d written a prologue and opening chapter a few months ago. Before I could get started, I opened my outline to scan the general opening of the book and reread what I had already written. I spent most of the first day focused on refreshing my memory. I vowed not to wait so long in between opening the document moving forward because reviewing my previous chapters was slowing me down. I also hemmed and hawed because the opening of the book needs to “set up” the action of the time travel and I felt like it was boring. I told myself every book needs a set up before the inciting incident and not to worry too much about it at this point. 

The second day I had a breakthrough and a brand-new flashback scene came to me. To be transparent, I hopped over to Spotify to find myself the perfect corresponding playlist and landed on “Debbie Gibson Radio.” I didn’t know where it was going when I began typing, but by the end of the next two days chapter two, set in the year 1988, was completed at 2,500 words. 

On the third day I fretted that I couldn’t find any post-it notes because I wanted to start storyboarding the new chapters on my wall while I wrote. I considered making a run to the local office supply store but then talked myself out of it and got back to writing. 

On days four and five I spent a lot of time out walking, getting fresh air, finishing up an audiobook, making homemade soup, taking long, hot baths, and mulling over my plot. Even though the entire book is planned out, I’m second guessing every little detail that I put on the page. Who’d have thought—a writer plagued by perfectionism? 

By last night, I had the prologue and two and a half chapters completed. I’m very close to the point where the time travel comes in, so that’s exciting! One thing I’ve learned is that I need to open this document and work on it a little every day. I’m guilty of planning to do that and then getting distracted by various things. But with both kids back at college and more flexible hours in my day, I need to take advantage of this extra time. 

I’m happy I did this short writing sprint and am pleased with what I’ve produced. I’m also excited to continue with the story. For now I'm not worried too much and want to focus on simply getting as much of the book down on the page. I'll save serious editing for after the first draft is complete. 

Do you find writing sprints, like NaNoWriMo, helpful in your creative process? I'd love to hear your stories!

Renee Roberson is an award-winning writer and true crime podcaster who is currently seeking representation on a suspense/thriller novel while she plans her next one. Learn more at FinishedPages.com.

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3 comments contemporary fiction, first draft advice, Renee Roberson, writing fiction, writing sprints

The Book by Jessica Bell (Review and Giveaway)

When the chance came to review another of Jessica Bell's books, I jumped at it. I loved her writing exercise and instruction book:  Show & Tell in a Nutshell! This novella, The Book, caught my attention immediately--mostly because of the different formats--journal entries, doctor/patient transcripts, and narrative in a child's voice. I know I've already caught your interest with just that list, so wait until you read on. . .

It doesn’t take a tome of 500 pages to tell a powerful, gripping and captivating story. Jessica has managed to do this in less than 150 pages in The Book. Jessica, also an author of poetry and nonfiction, takes on a unique voice for one of the narrators of her book—a five-year-old child, Bonnie; she truly captivates this voice, taking the reader through the story of the girl’s estranged parents and herself trying to figure out her young and confusing life full of adults always acting strangely.

The title comes from a book, which most would call a journal or diary, that Bonnie’s parents started writing in before she was even born. John, her father, has the idea to write special messages to his daughter and to give “The Book” to her when she is older. Penny, her mother, is the one who actually writes in it more, and eventually it becomes a diary for her mother, more than a message for the daughter.

The Book is divided into three parts: “Love is the Beginning,” “Love is a Weapon,” and “Love is Tangible.” In each part, Penny or John tell their side of the story and their feelings through their writings in “The Book”; Bonnie adds to the story through her narration for the reader; and transcripts of Bonnie speaking to a psychiatrist, Dr. Wright, are also included. All of these parts and various techniques work together to complete the story of Bonnie and her parents.

The reader learns that John and Penny don’t stay together after Bonnie’s born, and Penny starts a new relationship with Ted—who has a temper with a violent side. Bonnie explains to the reader what she sees going on in the lives of the adults around her, from her dad’s new family to her mom’s emotional side to “my Ted’s” outbursts.

Bonnie sees the biggest problem as “The Book.” She thinks it is what causes the difficulties in her life and the lives of her loved ones. She wants to destroy it and is just waiting for the chance to get it away from her mother and make everything better for everyone.

Jessica Bell

What Jessica does so well in this short novel is take on the different voices of the characters—readers will be able to hear the child trying to figure out her world in Bonnie’s narrative, while sympathizing with John and Penny who aren’t sure if they made the right choice to split apart. When Jessica writes as John in “The Book,” he has a distinct way of writing, which is different than Penny—this distinction and technique with voice are the marks of a talented writer.

The ending is shocking and can be somewhat disturbing, but it’s realistic, heartfelt, and certainly satisfying after spending several hours getting to know the characters in The Book.

Jessica is a native-Australian who lives in Athens, Greece. She is also a singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She makes a living as an editor and writer for English language teaching publishers worldwide, such as Pearson Education, HarperCollins, Macmillan Education, Education First and Cengage Learning. She also runs the Homeric Writers' Retreat and Workshop in Ithaca, Greece, which is an annual week-long workshop for writers with instruction from experts in the field. Recently, she re-released her full-length novel, String Bridge, complete with a cover makeover, and is giving away the digital version of the accompanying soundtrack (which is amazing, by the way!) with every purchase.

The Book is a fast read, but one that you will want to read again. The characters are complex, which makes the story memorable, and a great one to discuss in a book club. If you haven’t checked out anything Jessica Bell has written yet, then why not start with The Book?

Margo L. Dill is the author of Finding My Place: One Girl’s Strength at Vicksburg, a middle-grade (ages 9 to 12) historical fiction novel.

*****BOOK GIVEAWAY*****

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8 comments book giveaway, book review, contemporary fiction, Jessica Bell, novella

Re-Finding Inspiration

This weekend provided lots of time to be thankful--Thank you, WOW! and our wonderful readers!

The holiday weekend also gave me lots of time to clean up the house. It is the perfect procrastination technique and it impresses my in-laws. I don't know about you, but most of the time when I find myself in such a cleaning frenzy, it is because I'm trying to find something: missing car keys, important to-do lists, CDs, a favorite pen, the book I was just reading mere pages from the end?

My oldest took a look at the flurry of activity and wondered if I was hunting for the "Island of the Blue Dolphins," which she has just been assigned in school after reading (and re-reading) it two years ago.

A (very) worn library copy of "Island" covers a
great book for reading and writing inspiration.

"I let my friend borrow it last year and she says it hasn't found it even though she's cleaned up her room," my daughter said. (The room-cleaning habits of 10-year-old kids could fill a book, so I'll stop myself before I wander down that narrative path.)

Alas, no "Island" in all my cleaning and so a library trip now appears on a new to-do list...another piece of paper for me to lose. I did find my teacher's copy of Telling Stories: An Anthology for Writers, which is edited  by Joyce Carol Oates.

Telling Stories is a superb collection of great tales, grouped in eight wonderfully named sections, such as "Dramatic Monologues," "Re-Visions: Reappropriations," and "Genre: Horror." Her introduction will hasten many readers to stop reading, to drop the book, to run get a notebook and pen, to start to tell a story. In fact, she begs that we tell our stories because we all have a strong instinct to be storytellers.

I hadn't picked up the well-worn copy in nearly a decade and was amazed by my margin notes, underlining, and check marks throughout. I was also amazed I have apparently left some stories unread.  (Unread stories: another addition to the to-do list.)

I wish I could share more than just mere snippets here, maybe turning this into a psuedo-guest post by Joyce Carol Oates? Since she is so prolific, perhaps she might not notice? Nah. I wouldn't do that, but I will leave you with a sentence from her introduction that speaks to me and, I hope, to you:

"Every book, every story, every sentence we read is a part of our preparation for our own writing, so it's wise to choose our reading carefully, as an athlete trains carefully, as a musician practices at his or her instrument for hours and for years in pursuit of excellence, of fully realizing a talent."

Again, many thanks to our fantastic readers. Thank you for reading...now, go grab a pen and paper and start telling your stories.

Elizabeth King Humphrey is a North Carolina-based writer and editor. Follow her on Twitter @Eliz_Humphrey as she documents her reading of the short stories she missed reading in Telling Stories.

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1 comment contemporary fiction, Elizabeth King Humphrey, teaching fiction

Is Your Writing Dating You?

In a world where the latest “in” thing changes from month to month, if not week to week do you ever wonder if you’re dating yourself when you write? After all, it takes a long time to write an 80,000 word novel. Then there’s the process of finding an agent and publisher, going through the editing phase and finally getting your book into the stores. We’re talking years here.

So when readers pick up your brand new release and read a page about the main character’s obsession with the TV show “ER” will they wrinkle their foreheads in confusion? What about a scene that takes place in spinning class when absolutely nobody spins anymore? The word ‘awesome’? Will your trendy details have readers flipping to the copyright to see when this book was first published and surprised to find that it was this year?

I used to be obssessed with removing all the trendy details. Sure, you can get away with a few dated details but will too many make what was planned as a contemporary novel feel like a leftover from the 90’s? But now, after receiving an unusual email last week, I’m rethinking my decision.

The email was about The Love Legend, a novel by Woodward Boyd released in 1922. 1922! It is being re-released by Rvive Books(not a typo—only one “e”). Set in 1920’s Chicago the book is called “a literary time capsule” in the forward by Caroline Leavitt. Imagine if all the timely references had been deleted by an author worried about her book being dated? A romance floating in an indistinguishable time period it would have been interchangeable with every other romance story. Would it have survived to 1923, let alone 87 years to 2010?

I’m now convinced that each story should be firmly rooted in a year—trendiness be d#!5ed. The timely quirks will add to a strong storyline, making the book memorable. And isn’t that what we want? A timeless story with the power to capture readers for generations?

According to the forward by Caroline Leavitt:

“The Love Legend, set in Chicago in the 1920s, follows the lives of four very different sisters, each either following, struggling with or rejecting what their mother calls the love legend—a belief that somewhere out there is the perfect man who will somehow find you, and once you marry him, all will be hearts and roses. But don’t think this is the twenties version of chick lit or even a revamped Jane Austin tale, because Boyd is out to challenge the illusions of her age. She has bigger issues in mind, and the love legend only serves as a thread connecting them.

Written in four books, one for each sister, The Love Legend is really a story of four siblings with distinct personalities, each story set against the backdrop of 1920s Chicago. A literary time capsule, it wrestles with changing ideas about politics, culture, love, marriage and career. Each of the women—beautiful Ward, writer Dizzy, dancer Sari and traditionalist Nita—presents a differing argument about the right way to live, even as they all wrestle free, in one way or another, from their mother’s love legend.”

By leaving a comment you can enter to win a copy of The Love Legend by Woodward Boyd. Thanks, Rvive Books!

Do you think including fads in fiction writing dates it or makes it more interesting? Do you believe there’s a perfect partner for every person? If you had to describe your personality in one word, what would it be?

Jodi Webb is working on her first novel(ironically, historical fiction)and you can read more on her Words by Webb blog at www.jodiwebb.com

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8 comments contemporary fiction, fiction writing, The Love Legend