RTW: Ultimately, Torture & Death

I interrupt my regularly scheduled Nano broadcast for Road Trip Wednesday, a blog carnival hosted by YA Highway! This week's topic:

"What are your writing and publishing superpowers (drafting? beta-reading? writing queries? plotting? character creation? etc.) -- and what's your kryptonite?"

SUPERPOWERS

• Story Ideas are easier for me to come by than dust in the desert. When civilians ask authors where they get their ideas, or authors complain that they "can't come up with anything to write," I am completely dumbfounded. I get ideas in passing from dreams, books, movies, television, the news, dialogue from passing strangers - just to name a few. Life bursts with ideas - how could you not stumble upon at least one idea a day?
• Characters are my bread and water (with butter on top ;). Almost all of my stories are exclusively character-driven, meaning I come up with the main characters and basic premise first and then work out the plot when I absolutely have to. (More on plot below...) Most characters are born their own unique person straight from the get-go, and as such flow from my fingertips with ease and pleasure. I always enjoy the new discoveries I make about them every time I sit down to write!
• Beginnings, i.e. the First/Third (for me), are my easiest words to write, where you introduce the main characters and set up the premise and world. And it is a rare day when I don't put down a rather brilliant First Sentence right off the bat.
• And speaking of which, Knowing Where to Start has become a specialty of mine, I'm happy to say. Now when published authors recommend to "cut your first chapter," I'm like, "Already done before it was written!" XD
• Lastly, Encouragement is a natural way of life for me. I love to encourage others in their writing (and in their lives), and love to send emails and tweets with lots of !!! and XD in them! :)

KRYPTONITE

• Plot is the first half of why I have yet to be published. If I had my druthers I would simply follow my characters around all day and not worry about them doing anything particularly exciting or adventurous, because they are just so fascinating all by themselves! But people insist on a plot for some reason, and when I can't come up with anything good enough my books tend to die a tragic death and I move on to something seemingly better. Started books? Probably over 100. Finished books? Under 10.
• Middles, i.e. the Second/Third of a story, are the endless death valley that spans between the beginning and the end for me. I'll get hopelessly confused by my fractured plot and lose focus and direction and the characters will take back over and start worrying about holidays instead of finding the climactic end and... *sigh* I am happy to say I am learning to work through the dreaded middle, but I don't foresee them becoming a superpower any time soon.
• Editing - the other reason I have yet to publish. A first draft is difficult to write, but I've done it. But go back and edit? *shiver* I have yet to do a successful novel edit. Heck I haven't even done a full second-draft edit! And it's mainly because my plot was so weak that it needs a complete re-do and I just don't want to go there. But I'm collecting my tips and tricks and reference books, and once I finish Project V (by December 31st or I die a painful death inflicted by my own hand), that will change (or, again, torture and ultimately self-inflicted death).

So those are mine! What parts of writing are you good and bad at?

Rule #1: In late, out early

"In late, out early." This is one of the most well-used and well-known writing sayings today simply because it should always be followed. (This is especially true of YA fiction and younger genres, though apparently not so much for adult fiction if most published works are any indication - but don't get me started on that.)

This saying literally means you should begin each chapter (or scene) either at the last possible moment before or right after something interesting happens - and then end the chapter/scene right after it's over. No backstory infodump, no unnecessary description, no filler. Just the best bits of the story - not much more, not much less.

Backstory is mainly for the author's information only. Plot and write whatever backstory you need to, but unless it's absolutely necessary to the story, you shouldn't use it in the book. If you do need to explain something about a character's past, or perhaps a bit of world history, mix it into another necessary scene - don't just infodump it wherever it "feels right." The same goes for description. Weave it into the narrative using the character's senses. Don't "set the scene" (start a scene with a block of description) unless the scene truly needs setting (and in most cases, it doesn't).

The only time filler is appropriate is for pace padding (so the story flows properly), and even then filler should only be necessary information to further the story. I just used a bit of filler in ID - I felt the need to expound a few paragraphs on EP and AD's history together while they were driving to NYC. When I got done, though, I felt a bit dirty for throwing in the part-flashback/part-infodump scrap of filler, and will most likely trim it down to bare facts in editing.

Every scene, paragraph, sentence, even word, should inform the reader of necessary information and move the story along. If it doesn't do this, it doesn't belong. I don't care if it's your favorite scene in which Martin goes to the Laundromat to wash his socks and runs into a batty old woman. If this old woman (or his socks) doesn't end up predicting a dastardly event in Martin's future, and instead simply annoy him, then the reader doesn't need to know about it. I don't care how many hours you put into crafting the old woman (or his socks). (But if it's already written, don't toss it! Literary Deleted Scenes now have a place: on your website.)

Now, I'm not saying that you should fret every time you begin a chapter/scene, worrying if you're starting at the right point. The First Draft is for getting down whatever flows out of you. If Martin suddenly goes to the Laundromat, let him. He may end up just washing his socks, or the batty old woman may predict his death. It isn't until later drafts that you need to worry if something furthers the story or not. Write whatever comes to you - and then prune it like a bonsai later.