Next Time

Next time I write a novel, I'm going to do a bunch of things differently to make the process easier:

1. The characters will always tell the truth and say exactly what they mean. That way I won't need so many notes to keep track of what's going on, and I won't have to write nearly as many scenes.

2. All the problems that the characters face will be simple to resolve. Again, this will help considerably with my book length problem, as it will take far fewer pages to tell the story.

3. I'll heed that old adage, "Write what you know." If I only draw on characters and situations similar to what I've encountered myself, I won't have to do much research or spend so much time imagining what experiences might be like.

4. I will make an outline in advance and stick to it faithfully, no matter what other ideas I come up with during the drafting process. It's way too much work to constantly readjust the plot by taking the story in directions I didn't plan.

5. I won't be such a perfectionist and insist on rewriting the manuscript over and over. This novel is taking so long, there may never be a next time.

Good Stuff Out There:

→ Carl Wilkinson at The Telegraph takes a look at how different authors handle the issue of shutting out a world of digital distraction: "Clearly the distractions of YouTube cat videos, unsolicited tweets and the ping of an email arriving in your inbox are not conducive to writing an intricately structured 100,000-word novel." (Thanks, Christopher Gronlund!)