Process Archives - Page 7 of 13 - Kerry Gans, Author

VERITAS, Act I complete

July 31, 2014 By Kerry Gans 2 Comments

My current Work-In-Progress (WIP) is a science fiction YA called Veritas. This is the first book I have started from scratch since my daughter was born. As a result, I have no idea how long it will take me to finish this book. In pre-child days, I could have gone from rough draft to final draft within a year, if I put my nose to the grindstone. Today? No idea. I’m learning what my new normal is.

So, I was very happy to reach the end of Act I in Veritas. It’s about 15,000 words, and will probably grow closer to 18,000 by the time I go back and fill in some of the world-building and deepen some of the emotional moments.

I’ve been trying to work my process a little differently this time around. Although I love to edit, I want to try to cut my time between rough draft and final draft. I am more of a pantser, but I am trying to use a very basic guideline. In my case, I am using Jami Gold’s Basic Beat Sheet,which allows me to pretend I’m pantsing while actually plotting. 😉 It tells me the four main beats I need to have, and about where they should fall word-count wise given my estimated final word count. So far, it has helped me stay on track.

I am wondering what I should do next. Normally, I am a proponent of writing the first draft through to the end without going back and editing. However, I am a little unclear where I am going in the second act, and I think going back and expanding the world and adding depth to the characters might help me find my way. Perhaps it will inspire me. Or I may just plow on and write to my next beat (midpoint) and see what happens. As I said, I am feeling out my process now and seeing what can help speed up the writing while maintaining (or improving) the quality.

Veritas seems to be an experimental novel for me. Not only am I tweaking my writing process, but it is my first dual-POV novel. So far I like how it’s working, although I may reach the end and decide it doesn’t work for the story overall. But we shall see.

I am waiting for the second round of edits for my novel Ozcillation (coming 2015 from Evil Jester Press), but in the meantime I will continue to move forward with Veritas. I know what my major beats are, I am growing more comfortable with my characters, and I am eager to try and take my writing to a new level.

How about you—what writing milestones have you reached lately?

What’s Your Observational Intelligence Quotient?

July 10, 2014 By Kerry Gans 2 Comments

This article on the Blood-Red Pencil brought to my attention the idea of observational intelligence (OQ). We all know that most writers are pretty observant people, but did you know that there are two types (and a continuum in between)? An “innie” focuses more on the interior direction, and the “outie” focuses more on external observations. Neither is “bad” or “wrong,” but if we know which we are, we can work on strengthening our observational skills.

I took the OQ quiz confident that I would be a solid “innie.” It’s no secret that I am an introvert and prone to introspection. So my score—20—shocked me. It placed me dead in the center of the continuum. So I examined my answers to see how I had gotten that score.

I found that I had rated several of the major external observational factors quite high, while others didn’t register at all. How could that be? Then the pattern became clear.

My anxiety disorder had tipped the scale.

The anxiety disorder makes me hyper-aware of certain things, such as:

Where are the exits
What is the mood of people around me
Hearing even soft sounds while immersed in something else

In other words, I am highly observant of anything that will help keep me safe, help me avoid dangerous situations, and allow me to flee if needed.

Other external factors, not so much. I am rarely aware of:

What people are wearing
The color of walls in a room
If something subtle has changed in the room since last time I was there

So the good news is that I am more observant than I thought. And I could work to become even more observant of those factors I rarely notice now, which could improve my writing.

I think, though, I would have to have a limited observational improvement. As with most anxiety-disordered people, sensory overload happens easily for me. And when I get overloaded, I shut down and stop interacting. I feel like I’m not really there, as if I’m watching everything from outside my body. It is an uncomfortable and frustrating feeling. So while I would like to up my OQ, I think I would only “engage” the new skills at selective times and places, when I am not already feeling overwhelmed.

What’s your OQ?

How to Cut a Book in Half: 3 Tips

July 3, 2014 By Kerry Gans 4 Comments

No, I am not doing that magic trick where a magician cuts an assistant in half. I would never hurt a book that way! Seriously, though, I had a big problem with one of my middle grade books.

I have been working with 2 co-authors on a middle grade adventure book. When we started writing it together a few years ago, we were all new to the publishing track of writing. None of us had any book-length publishing experience, although a few short stories had seen the light of day. So we wrote this awesome book together.

The problem was that it was 96,000 words long.

For those who do not know, that is a very long book. Even had it been an adult book, it would have raised some flags, depending on genre. A middle grade book, though, is usually dialed in at 40,000-60,000 words (depending on genre). So you can see how far off we were. Why did we get it so wrong? We were new, and didn’t know any better. We made the mistake and that is how you learn.

Even at that length, though, we had several agents interested in it–even asking for fulls. So obviously there was something in the idea that they liked. A good sign.

Developmental editor Kathryn Craft worked on it for us, and gave us great tips, one of which was that it was way too long. So, we headed back to the drawing board.

We have cut that book from 96,000 words to 53,000 words. Right in the sweet spot.

How did we do it? Here are 3 tips:

1) We took out all the scenes that were not in our protagonist’s point of view (POV). We realized we didn’t need those scenes to tell the story, although we loved a lot of them.

2) We dialed back the subplots. We loved our subplots. They really added to the color of the story, especially since it is a historical novel. But they weren’t necessary to move the plot forward. So we cut them down (or cut them completely) and settled for hinting at the subplots rather than fleshing them out. Instead of whole scenes, we used a line or two here and there to hint that:

Sister works at Wanamaker’s and wants more than to be a housewife
Pharmacist sells illegal booze from their store (it is Prohibition)
Brother has PTSD from World War I, drinks and brawls
Professor at museum drinks and must hide it from the administrators

3) Replotted the first part of the book. The last part of the book, where the action ramped up, was good. We had a lot of feedback that at a certain scene the book took off and people couldn’t put it down. Clearly, we needed to get people to that point much faster. We went back and revisited the longer, fuller, and thus slower-moving first part. By removing subplots and non-protagonist POV scenes, we had a clearer idea of where the main plot needed to go. We found ways to hit the high points faster, and compressed the entire timeline of the book from almost 3 months to 6 days. Much better!

Of course, after replotting and streamlining the first part, it took a while to wrestle the second part into shape, to make sure everything was consistent and the voice didn’t change. But we did it!

So that’s how you cut a book in half: ruthlessly cut everything that is not integral to the story and then make what’s left move faster. Simple, right?

Have any of you needed to make such a major edit? How did you do it?

Kid Questions #1: Does Writing A Novel Ever Get Boring?

May 29, 2014 By Kerry Gans 5 Comments

My mom works as an English as a Second Language aide. One day, an author visited her school. One of my mom’s students asked my mom, “Doesn’t it get boring writing a long book?” My mom asked how I would answer this question. So here’s the answer, for my mom’s student and for anyone else who ever wondered the same thing.

Writing a book is a long process. I feel many different emotions during the writing of a book. So let’s start at the beginning, and see how it goes.

When I first get a new idea, I’m excited and happy. I’m so excited that ALL I want to do is work on the book. I don’t want to go out, I don’t want to eat, I don’t want to talk to anyone. I just want to live in my brand new story idea.

Some writers create detailed plots and character sketches and do massive amounts of research prior to actually writing the story (those writers are called plotters), and some only have the sketchiest idea of plot and character and do their research as they go along or after they finish the first draft (these are called pantsers). Me? I’m a bit in between, but closer to a pantser. I do a rough outline. At this stage, the idea is still shiny and new, and I am still excited and eager to get to the writing.

Once I start writing the first draft, the first part usually goes smoothly. The excitement of a new adventure, a new world, a new group of characters, is still heady, and it carries me along.

Somewhere in the first draft, though, things change. The excitement fades and the words don’t come as easily. Sometimes I struggle with scenes that just aren’t coming out right. Sometimes my characters start to go flat. Sometimes it’s hard to know where to take the story next (this is where plotters probably have the advantage). At this stage, I feel frustrated, because I have this great idea in my imagination, and I can’t get it right in words on the page.

When I am frustrated, that would be a really easy time to just give up. And a lot of writers do give up, which is why so few people who START writing a book actually FINISH one. If you want to be a real writer, you have to finish, period. There is no shortcut. You have to put in the work and struggle through the hard parts. So another thing I feel at the same time I get frustrated is stubbornness. I’m stubborn. I will not give up on an idea I think is worthwhile. You need that sort of stubborn perseverance if you’re going to succeed in writing—or in anything else, really.

Usually, as the end of the first draft approaches, the excitement comes back, because I know where the story is going, I know the characters, I can see the end in sight, and I want to make it an awesome ending. And when I finally reach the end, it’s a mix of feelings. Happiness, because finishing is a big achievement. Pride, because it was hard to finish. Relief, because I made it through the tough part. Sadness, because I’m done writing this story. Except that I’m not really done yet!

You’ll note I didn’t ever say that writing was boring. And there’s a good reason for that: if I am bored writing a scene, a reader will be bored reading the scene. So if I find myself bored with what I’m writing, that’s a BAD sign.

Finishing the first draft is not the end of the process. Then comes the editing and revising. I revise everything AT LEAST five times. Usually more.

I actually enjoy revising—a lot of writers don’t. But when I am reworking the story, I rearrange parts of it, delete scenes, write new scenes. I figure out my theme and find symbols that worked their way into the story. I find deeper meanings to the story than I had plotted. All of these things make me surprised and happy and excited.

But there are boring parts of editing, too. Finding all the passive verbs (like “was,” “were,” and “had been”) and making them into stronger active verbs (like “throw,” “ripped,” or “lectured”). Taking out the words ending in -ly or -ing (they tend to make your sentences weak). Formatting checks like having only one space after a period or making sure all your dashes are em-dashes. Spellcheck (always, always Spellcheck!). Those are not creative, and can be boring, but they are absolutely necessary to creating a good book.

So that’s my answer in a nutshell. During the process of writing a book, I feel many emotions—but boring is not usually a top one. And getting to the boring part is actually a good sign, because it means I’m REALLY close to having a publishing-ready manuscript!

How about my fellow authors out there? Do you ever find writing a long book boring?

The Origin of DYING BREATH

May 22, 2014 By Kerry Gans 1 Comment

DYING BREATH is a contemporary YA short story. It’s my second short story published–the first, TO LIGHT AND GUARD, was published last year. My goal for last year was to simply place a short story, which I did. My goal this year was to place in a paid market, which I did!

DYING BREATH, like TO LIGHT AND GUARD, grew out of a prompt from Jonathan Maberry‘s Advanced Novel Writing course. He wanted us to practice combining two semi-random things into a story premise on the spot. His two prompts were “organ transplant” and “Afghanistan.”

Well, I floundered in class (I’m not fast with stuff like that; I’m a “percolator”), but the idea took hold and DYING BREATH was born. After 3 intense rounds of edits with my critique partners, I sent it out into the world.

I am so pleased and excited to be in this month’s Youth Imagination online magazine! Please read the other great stories in this issue, and browse around to old issues if you like what you see.

The 7 Stages of Revision

May 15, 2014 By Kerry Gans 4 Comments

I recently got editing notes back from my publisher, Evil Jester Press. To my surprise, I found that there is an emotional process to editing, and it has stages. The 7 stages of the revision process are slowly revealing themselves to me:

1. Anxious Anticipation

This is the first stage, often overlooked because it takes place before a single editing note is given. This stage occurs in the time when your book has been accepted by a publisher, but before you get your notes from your editor. How long this stage lasts depends on how long it takes the editor to get your notes to you.

2. Freaked-out Excitement

When your notes hit your in-box, excitement surges through your body. Suddenly, the fact of your book’s publication feels REAL. The forward movement brings a giddy smile. Then you open the notes, read them, and the freak-out begins. I can’t do this! It’s too much! It’s overwhelming! My book stinks so much, I can’t believe the publisher ever accepted it!

3. Accepting Reality

Slowly, the overwhelmed stress leaches away, and reality sets in. The notes are fair, and you can see how they will improve the book. You know it will not be a fast process, but that you CAN do it. You accept the challenge to take your book to the next level.

4. Organized Chaos

The notes you receive may or may not be highly organized. Even if they are, the notes may not be organized in the best way for your brain. Every writer’s editing process is unique, just as each writer’s writing process is unique. For me, I took my notes and divided them into “Technical Notes” and “Creative Notes.” The Technical Notes range from the formatting of the titles to raking through the manuscript to edit out as many passive verbs as possible. They are the fixes that, although often time-consuming, are not creatively taxing. The Creative Notes are the ones that will require rewriting or new writing, such as fleshing out the world or tweaking the voice.

5. Diving In

Once you’ve gotten the notes organized, it’s time to dive in! Take the notes in whatever order suits your process. I tend to do the easiest fixes first, then work up to the hardest. Other writers prefer to get the harder fixes out of the way and end with the easy stuff. It’s a personal choice.

6. Fear of Failure

This is where I am currently. Oddly enough, even as I am making progress in many notes, I still worry that I will not be able to deal with the harder, often subtler issues, such as voice and world-deepening. That somehow my creativity will fail me at a crucial moment, and I will end up with a book almost perfect in the nuts and bolts while lacking in soul. I push the fear aside, trying to tackle one thing at a time. I have to trust that my Muse will come when I need her, as she always has.

7. Success

This is the final stage! If you work hard, focus, and keep chipping away, you will get there. You will finish, and your book will be better for all the extra work. I’m estimating that I will arrive at this stage in several weeks—perhaps a month if my Muse takes a vacation at an inopportune time or life events get in the way.

So there you have the 7 Stage of Revision! Where do you get mired? What stage are you in right now? Do you have any tips to get through the process more efficiently?

The Writing Process Blog Tour

May 12, 2014 By Kerry Gans 10 Comments

Writing friend Donna Galanti asked if I would join The Writing Process Blog Tour, and since I can’t ever have too many things to do, I said yes!

The awesome Donna Galanti writes suspense, young adult, and middle grade fiction and is represented by Bill Contardi of Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, Inc. She is an International Thriller Writers Debut Author of the paranormal suspense novel A HUMAN ELEMENT (Echelon Press). Watch for her suspense novel A HIDDEN ELEMENT, the sequel to A HUMAN ELEMENT, coming summer 2014 by Imajin Books. Her middle grade series, JOSHUA AND THE LIGHTNING ROAD, debuts in 2015 by Month9Books. Check out Donna’s Writing Process post, and follow her on Twitter or Facebook or Goodreads—or all of them.

Without further ado, here’s what passes for my writing process:

What am I working on?

On Friday, I got my editing notes for my middle grade novel OZCILLATION (coming in 2015 from Evil Jester Press), so I am getting ready to dive into those. Currently, I am wavering between freaking out and excited. I’m a writer who enjoys revision, though, so I am eager for this challenge!

Because I like to have several projects going at once (it helps me block writer’s block), I also am editing two short stories that I hope will find homes this year; finishing up the formatting for my genealogy book, THE WARREN FAMILY OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AND THEIR ANCESTORS, which should be available soon via POD; querying my YA novel THE ORACLE OF DELPHI, KANSAS; writing a first draft of my current Work-In-Progress, a YA sci-fi titled VERITAS; and looking forward to the Philadelphia Writer’s Conference in June.

Add my Mom duties to all that, and, yeah, I’m busy!

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Well, that’s a question that every author should know the answer to, but most of us struggle with! I write middle grade and YA—which are categories rather than genres, but I write different genres within each category. Some of my kids are ordinary, some have paranormal powers. They all get into adventures they didn’t seek. So far, none of that is very different from most work in my genre.

My focus, however, is on a kid or teen’s ability to change the world. Kids often feel helpless when facing the problems out in the world. They don’t think they can do anything to change things. I know they can. All my characters, ordinary or paranormal, find their own unique gifts and use them to solve the problems they face—and in doing so, they change their worlds. Kids need to know that being who they truly are is powerful, and that their power can change the world. I know this is true because I have seen it happen.

Why do I write what I do?

These are the types of books I have always liked to read. Both as a child and an adult, I have been drawn to books that range from sci-fi/fantasy to those with just a touch of paranormal. I love to touch the magic that we cannot see. In short, I like books where the world is so much more than it seems, and where the characters discover that they themselves are so much more than they ever imagined. Books that show kids that one person can change the world–and that they are never too young to be that person.

How does my writing process work?

It’s rather a miracle it works at all, because I feel like I spend all my time putting out fires and jotting down words that may or may not be coherent when I look back later!

When an idea comes to me, I write a down-and-dirty outline. And by outline I mean summary of what I think might happen. I usually have a beginning and an end, and a large blank spot in the middle. One friend dubbed it the “miracle-happens-here” approach to outlining. I have been trying to think things through a little more in my pre-writing stage lately, to keep me from floundering too much when writing. I will never be one of those authors who outlines every scene before they even start writing (how do they do that?), but having a better handle on structure and character arc before I start will allow me to take better advantage of the snatches of time I have to write in.

Once I know where I’m headed, I start to write. I usually write chronologically, but I will skip around if a scene comes to me strongly. Because I have a 4-year-old who is at home most of the time, my writing time tends to be highly segmented and divided into short periods. So some days I manage many words, some days not so much. But I generally strive to write a complete chapter per day when I am in full writing mode (my chapters tend to be short).

I like feedback early in the writing process. When I first started writing seriously, I wrote with a writing partner—we were practically symbiotic in our relationship. Unfortunately, she passed away about 11 years ago, and I had to figure out a whole new writing process that involves less early feedback from others. I have found a great critique group, and I have some wonderful beta readers who are willing to give me honest feedback, whether it’s on a first draft or a final draft.

Revision is where my book starts to feel solid. Usually it’s not until the 5th draft that I feel like things are getting close to “The End.” I start with a big-picture storyboard edit to track the plot structure and arcs, then slowly whittle down to sentence-level edits such as destroying every “was” I can find. Once it’s as polished as I can make it, I get a professional edit, and then it’s ready for sending to agents!

That’s my process in a nutshell! I’m pleased to hand off to two amazing people for next week:

Writing maven Jami Gold writes beach reads with bite, delighting in paranormal romance and urban fantasy. The queen of beat sheets, Jami shares her wealth of writing knowledge with her blog readers and workshop attendees. Jami will post her Writing Process Blog on Thursday, May 22nd.

Very busy man Uriah Young is an author, motivational speaker, and publicist. He strives to find out what makes people successful, and motivate high school and college students to find their passion. Writer, speaker, and podcaster, he often seems to be everywhere at once! Uriah will post his Writing Process Blog on Monday, May 19th.

World Healing, World Peace 2014 Poetry Anthology

April 3, 2014 By Kerry Gans 2 Comments

I don’t normally write poetry.

One day, however, I was taking my daily walk when phrases started coming to me. They repeated themselves and grew. By the time I had finished my walk, a whole poem was in my head. As soon as I could, I wrote it down. I revised a little. I stared at it. I wondered, “Now what do I do with it?”

Honestly, I wasn’t even sure it was a poem. And even if it was, I had no idea if it was any good. My practical brain wanted to just put it away somewhere to gather dust because “You don’t write poetry, Ker.”

But it wouldn’t leave me alone. I felt like it was something, you know?

So I sent it to a friend, Diane Sismour, who is poet. I asked her if it was even a poem, and what she thought. She thought not only was it a poem, but it had a powerful message. And she said, “I know an anthology this would be perfect for.”

Really? An anthology? For this poem that just fell out of my head fully formed and demanding attention? Okay. No harm in sending it in.

Enter the World Healing, World Peace 2014 poetry anthology (available now). This is a 2-volume work with many poets in it (including Diane), and the focus is on world peace, world unity, and human rights. The publisher’s goal is to get 2 copies into the hands of the United Nations delegates, and one copy to every member of the US Congress. The publisher wants the voices of the poets to be heard, because we have something to say.

It is a worthy cause, and I am proud to be a part of it. This is not an opportunity I looked for, but rather a case of the right poem meeting the right person at the right time. This experience is the reason I encourage all writers to write in different formats, as the spirit moves them. Experiment. Spread your wings.

You never know what will fly.

If you are interested in the World Healing, World Peace initiative and want to see how you can help and be involved, check out the website.

Have you ever written something outside your zone that had success that surprised you?

A Creative Spring Blooms

March 6, 2014 By Kerry Gans Leave a Comment

This has been a rough winter in my area—lots of snowstorms and unusually deep cold spells. So it’s not surprising that I have spring on my mind!

Spring is a time of renewal, and renewal is on my mind right now, too. I seem to be having something of a personal Renaissance. My Muse is coming out to play.

I’ve been lost in a creative desert for more than 4 years—ever since my daughter was born. When I say this, people look at me in surprise, because I have been turning out a lot of work during the past 4 years. Lots of words. But not much has been in creative fiction. Most has been blogging, working on a family non-fiction genealogy book, and revising of fiction works whose early drafts pre-dated my child. So a lot of words, but not a lot of new creative ideas.

Not only weren’t new ideas coming, I didn’t even FEEL creative. Nothing stirred in my brain or soul. I worried that I would never again feel the elation of a new idea, the exhilaration of writing in a flow state, the thrill of hearing a character talk to me. But then things started to change.

First, at the 2013 Philadelphia Writer’s Conference, I felt stirrings of creativity. Then, a short-lived but bright fire burst forth in August. But these spurts didn’t last, and I ended up feeling depressed all over again, as if they had been nothing more than mirages in my creative desert.

But over the past few cold, snowy, wintry weeks, I have experienced hints of a creative spring. For the first time in years, a character is speaking to me. For the first time in years, I reached a flow state while writing fiction. And for the first time in years, I woke up with a new novel idea in my head—half-formed, incomplete, but intriguing.

Unlike my earlier mirages, I think this Renaissance might stick. I’m not sure what has changed to revive my Muse. Perhaps because I am sleeping more regularly and reliably (although still not enough). Perhaps because I am getting a little more exercise. Perhaps because my child is in preschool for a few hours a day (barring snow days!) and I have more time to devote to writing. Perhaps it simply took 4 years to recover from the utter exhaustion that comes with a newborn.

Whatever the reason, this resurgence feels new. Different from the other stirrings. It’s almost too good to believe.

But I will believe, and hold on tight.

Because as a writer, it is in my nature to believe in miracles.

Have you ever experienced a personal Renaissance?

Finding Time but Losing Depth

February 20, 2014 By Kerry Gans Leave a Comment

As a stay-at-home mom, my schedule revolves around my 4-year-old daughter. This often means that my writing time is fragmented. I grab 15 minutes here, a half hour there. I have read tons of blog posts about how to squeeze the most writing time out of your day.

I never used to think I could write this way, but you do what you need to do when faced with reality. So I wring words out of my day, and usually manage to get a decent amount of writing done each day. I’m happy and left with a sense of accomplishment (no matter how small) when I see that at least one of my projects has progressed.

But. (You knew there was a “but,” didn’t you?)

I worry that I am sacrificing depth in this scattered writing style.

Pre-child, I could spend several hours at a time writing. I could “go deep,” getting lost in the world and the character. I would often finish a writing tear and look up, blinking, wondering where I was, what time it was—much like the feeling when you leave a movie theater.

I can’t do that anymore, and I think my writing has suffered. I find it hard to lose myself in my world or character in short spurts of time. No sooner do I feel comfortable than it’s time to leave. And since much of my snatched writing time also involves having my child around, my mommy ear is always listening for cries or yells that might indicate she needs help—or that ominous silence that means I really need to go see what she’s up to. So my full attention is not on my writing.

My biggest struggle at the moment is character. Readers do not connect to my characters. I used to do character well. I suspect that my “stolen time” model of writing is keeping me from plumbing the depth I used to in my characters, keeping me from finding their voices. If I can’t get lost in my characters, how can I expect my readers to?

I have also found that—for me—it is very hard to find that voice in revision when it is not present in the first draft. Character deepening in revision (and I like revising!) has never come out right. Perhaps I’m too caught up in the existing words on the page to want to change them enough to bring the character’s voice to the front. I don’t know.

All I know is I have three options: 1) find larger chunks of time to write (ha!), 2) learn to go deep faster, or 3) learn to deepen character in revision. I’m not sure which will happen. I’m not sure which will be successful. But something’s got to change for me to solve my character problem.

How about you? Do you find that writing in fragmented time lessens your ability to go deep? If you’ve mastered this technique, please share some tips in the comments!

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