Category Archives: Novel Writing Tips

If You Only Just Ask

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As I’ve written before, my new book involves a lot of research and since parts of it are loosely based on events in the life of my family, I’ve become an Ancestry.com addict.

Over these past couple of months, what has been so remarkable has been the generosity of persons I’ve asked for help.  I mean, look.  I’m a complete stranger.  Sending an email out into cyberspace and asking a person I’ve never met (and probably never will) if s/he can answer a question or lead me to information about a specific point feels risky.  And the range of my questions (and the replies) is amazing.  I’ve asked about the sales price of a particular, 1930’s era model car; about the interior layout of a Hudson River Steamboat; how a certain street in the Bronx would have looked in the 1930’s.  It goes on and on.  What’s so surprising and gratifying is how willing and helpful complete strangers have turned out to be.

Who would of thunk it!?

It’s especially wonderful because these last two months have been difficult for us.  Luisa has experienced an almost constant pain that has managed to defy the analysis of our local medical community. So, of course, I’ve been even more distracted than usual (and that’s a lot!!).  But thanks to the internet and my hummingbird approach to writing, I’m moving ahead with the new book.   190 pages in and still feeling enthused.

So what’s the takeaway?  It’s that people are pretty darn terrific if you give them half a chance!

 

And here’s how it’s working

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In my last blog, I talked about my “hummingbird” approach to writing — all fits and starts and never letting yourself assume that you can only write when and if you have long, uninterrupted blocks of time.  Yes, it works, but do I yearn for long, uninterrupted blocks?  Of course!

A progress report.  My current project, a novel about a Jewish-American woman born in 1918 and that follows her life for approximately 40 years, is actually taking shape.  I’m about 130 pages into it and even though it’s mostly being writing under the constraints of my “hummingbird” method, things are starting to fall into place.  I’m enjoying getting to know the protagonist, as well the other characters in her life, and look forward to each new, albeit brief, session.

eb56bb711def1f34ffb1a16a49c7a222Because this novelis set in real places and at a real time in history, I needed to do a lot of basic research before

I ever wrote a word.  But once I’d completed what I absolutely needed in the way of research, I had a choice:  to either continue to research everything I possibly could or or to start writing and do

I love the research and could easily let it drag on for years and years and never actually start to write. Working as I do, when I come to a point in the story where research is essential, I either stop and do it on the spot or mark the passage and return to it later.research on the fly.  I chose the latter.

Stay tuned.

Write Like A Hummingbird

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Since my last blog in which I bemoaned what has become (temporarily, I hope) an all-consuming focus on things canine, I’ve actually discovered a way to write.

It’s true, that Mischa, the Newfoundland, is by my side 90 percent of the times.  That’s because I’m under strict orders from the vet not to let her play, run, jump, frolic, cavort, prance, caper, gambol, romp or even walk more than a few steps.  So, as long as she’s awake, I’m  up and down . . . in and out . . .  with Mischa.  She’s a puppy that, after all, is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to engage in any and all of the above activities.

You might wonder what kind of writing I can get done when I’m interrupted every few minutes by a dog or a kid, or anything else for that matter.  I was feeling sorry for myself and figuring I’d have to put it all aside, when I noticed a hummingbird buzz in to eat from a feeder that hangs about four feet from where I’m sitting.  The little guy zoomed in, took a few sips and flew away.  His wings never stopped beating.  That’s when it hit me that if I really want to write, I’ll have to expect to do it more the way a hummingbird feeds and less as I would if I were enjoying a slow, leisurely, gourmet meal at a fine

Russian River-Coastal-20131020-00052restaurant.  I’ll need to pop in, write what I can, and zoom off to the next thing.

In the end, it comes down to realigning my expectations.  If mine are such that the only way I can imagine myself writing is to require long, unbroken stretches of silence, I might as well give up now.   But, if I can modify my expectations so that rather than wait for that perfect, interruption-free environment, I can see myself writing in short, frequently interrupted, bursts, I might surprise myself at what I can accomplish.

I’m not advocating this as the optimum way to write.  It’s not.  But it is a way to write.  Eventually, I’ll need to carve out those long, uninterrupted periods so I can take what might be a jumble and turn it into coherent, well-written prose.  My point, however, is that if I can “write like a hummingbird” and do what I can, when I can, I’ll be much farther along than if I wait for that perfectly silent, uninterrupted stretch of writing time.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

What I’m Working On Now (Part I)

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Now that I’ve finished the film treatment for “I Love You, California!” I’m moving on to a new, challenging and exciting project.  But what happens with the film treatment, you ask? Stuff it in a drawer?  Honestly, I’m not sure.  I’ve never done anything like that before and so I’m unsure about next steps.  I suppose that with luck, we’ll find somebody in the film-making world who thinks we have a great story and will help it get made.  This is not the part of the work that appeals to me.  I enjoy the research and the writing.  In an ideal world, I’d leave every bit of the promotion to others.

Be that as it may, it’s still time to dig in to a new project and let the treatment “ferment.”

Trust the process!

Writing a novelSo the new project:  I’ve started the research for a novel that will follow an American family through the 1920’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s.  For a writer, this 40-year period is particularly juicy.  The Roaring 20’s, the Great Depression, World War II, and the McCarthy era, along with the post-war expansion, will comprise building blocks of the story.

How do I approach a writing project like this?   Since I’ve never tackled writing a novel, I’m figuring out what works for me as I go along.  There’s a good deal of finding my way by bumping into things and then changing direction.  I started out with ideas for a beginning, middle and end.  As a playwright, I know that the place to begin should follow an inciting incident.  Something has to have happened that sets the play . . . the machine . . .  the story . . . in motion.  I want to start this novel in much the same way and to that end, I’ve drafted a beginning that, for the moment, I like and that I hope will infuse the story with the energy it needs to keep a reader engaged.  Now I’m collecting my characters and working up their life histories.

If you’ve tackled writing a novel, I’d be interested to hear how you got the ball rolling . . .