Finding time to write

I have not been published yet. I'm querying my first novel, but I haven't gotten my first full request yet (it hasn't even been a month, so I'm not too worried). Even if the novel gets picked up, and I manage to get a few more books published after, the chances of getting to the point of being able to live off my earnings from book sales is pretty much none.

So, I have a day-job. I'm lucky enough to get to work from home 3 days of the week. But my commute into the office is about an hour, so on the days I go in, I lose 2 hours of my life to sitting in a car.

Then there's family obligations. I live with family, and I enjoy spending time with them. I want to make sure they know that I love them and cherish them, so I try to give them time and attention.

When do I write? Well, every chance I get. I've heard it said that you should set aside a set time every day that you can focus on writing. I've tried that, but too often, things get in the way. A work project runs late and I can't just step away. There's a traffic accident on the freeway and it takes me an extra half hour to get home. My sister asks me to pick up my niece from ballet. We completely ran out of bread and I need to make an emergency trip to the store, so I might as well pick up the other things we're low on (literally happened just yesterday).

Instead of trying to carve out writing time, I set myself up so that any moment of the day could be writing time. I have a notebook and pens in my purse. I put a notebook specifically for my WIP in my work bag and take it to the office. I keep a notebook and my laptop next to me when I'm watching TV. Any little moment when inspiration might strike, I have a tool at my side that will allow me to start writing. Yes, I try to stick to a writing schedule as well, but I don't rely on it. Instead, I take the available moments as they come and keep myself prepared. It's served me well thus far.

Switching works mid-project

 

So, I am currently querying a YA novel that I intend to be the first in a series of at least 5 books. I'm nearly done writing the 2nd book, have started the 3rd, and have the main plot points down for books 4 and 5. I have plenty to work on with this project and a very good reason to continue to move forward with it, as I imagine literary agents will be more interested in picking up a series if they know the 2nd book will be ready within a year of the 1st being published.

So, what do I do? I set aside my series and begin writing a romance novel, something I've never done before. I hardly even read romance - only if I want a quick, silly, pick-me-up. Sure, I have romantic elements in the stories I write, but I've never made it the focus of the piece. Somehow, someway, working on my YA series and dealing with teen romance inspired me to come up with an adult romance storyline that is quickly turning into a full novel. In 2 1/2 days, I've already written over 20,000 words! If this was NaNoWriMo, I'd be kicking everyone's butts.

I want to finish my YA series, of course. I want to get the 2nd book done soon enough to entice literary agents to pick up the project. But I have to follow inspiration when it strikes. Maybe this romance novel will continue to fly out of me, as it has over the last couple of days, and I'll be done with it soon enough that it will be like I hardly stepped away from my YA series at all. I have to let this play out and see.

Mixing genres

 

I'm having something of a dilemma. I'm currently querying a queer YA novel and writing 2 sequels for it. But I'm also planning out an urban fantasy series for a general audience. I have an outline for a high fantasy series that could go either YA or general audience, haven't decided yet. And, just for fun, I sometimes write "spicy" romance.

The problem I'm having is that I can crank out romance stories a lot faster than the other books I write, because they're very trope heavy and predictable. I don't spend weeks and months doing complicated character building. I don't do series arcs. I just write fun little stories about people meeting and falling in love. I'm beginning to wonder if I should be querying my romance stories in addition to my YA novel, and, if so, how would that go over with readers and literary agents?

I'm worried that literary agents and publishers won't want someone to put their name on both bon-bon romance paperbacks and more serious novels. If my spicy romance novels get published, will people take my other novels seriously? Ideally, I would love it if I could get every manuscript I actually finish to be published, regardless of the genre or the audience. I just want people to read my stories and enjoy them. But I don't know of many authors who cross the line between straight up romance and serious fiction. I would consider using a pseudonym for the romance novels, to keep them separate from my other works, but I don't want to be disingenuous. I write what I write, and I write all over the map. Do I present myself to literary agents as an all-around author and hope they're willing to work with me in each genre? Do I focus my time and energy on only one genre at a time and try to build up a readership there before branching out? It's a conundrum.

Overcoming Writer's Block

There is nothing that gives me anxiety like hitting a bought of writer's block. It consumes my thoughts and makes me doubt myself like nothing else. After all, if I'm really meant to be a writer, shouldn't I be able to keep writing, inspired/motivated or not?

But we all experience writer's block at some point in time. Lots of things can cause it: being tired from day to day life, characters aren't talking to you, inspiration fatigue, just finished a work and don't know what to do next, etc. Plenty of reasons exist for why the creative juices might dry up.

In my case, one of the leading causes of writer's block is depression. I happen to have bipolar disorder. My mood is fairly well controlled by medication and therapy, but there are times when I still fall into a depressive episode and can't just will myself out of it. It's incredibly difficult for me to write when I'm depressed. I lack motivation to do much of anything and my mind is too numb for inspiration to strike. But not writing causes me to feel more depressed, because writing is the greatest joy in my life. It's a terrible spiral that makes me feel worse and worse until the depressive episode ends and I can write again.

In August of 2023, I completed a "final" draft of a manuscript for a novel and sent it to a beta-reader. I spent time editing it and writing a few scenes for its sequel. Then depression hit and I stopped writing. At first, I thought I wasn't writing because I'd just completed a work and wasn't ready to move on. Maybe my brain was stuck in editing mode. But time went on and I still wasn't writing. I came up with ideas for the next book, but I just couldn't get myself to write them down.

This depressive episode lasted until February 2024 - the longest major depressive episodes I've had since I started medication. I was miserable the entire time. And I didn't write a single word. I managed to journal a few times, as my therapist kept encouraging me to do, but I'd usually only get a page of "I don't know what to write" before I'd give up.

After a few medication changes that did nothing, my shrink came up with a cocktail that finally worked and I came out of the depression. It was like a weighted blanket was removed from my creativity and I was suddenly writing again. And I wrote a LOT. I've nearly finished the sequel to the novel I'm now querying with literary agents and written some key scenes for the 3rd book in the series.

It's easy to blame myself when I have writer's block. There must be something wrong with me. Unfortunately, with my troubles with my mental health, it's sometimes true that I'm the cause of my writer's block. But that doesn't make it my fault. And it doesn't mean that the writer's block won't lift if I just keep trying.

Yes, writer's block hits all of us. But I've realized something: I ALWAYS come back to writing. No matter how many times I've stepped away from my notebooks and laptop, I always come back. That's the part that matters to me. Pauses are temporary, and sometimes necessary to deal with other things going on in my life. But I know that I'll always return to writing. I just can't stay away. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Writing a voice that's not your own

 

As writers, we're told to "write what you know." Writers who choose to create main characters very different from themselves sometimes get chastised for giving false representation. But how can we only write characters that we directly relate to? There would be a lot of books about loners who spend all their time locked up in their rooms with their cats and a cup of coffee or tea. That would be rather boring.

So, we have to write characters that greatly differ from our own experiences. We use our imagination and research to fill in the gaps between what we "know" and what we want on the page. It's what makes us creative types.

But what if you want to create a voice that's traditionally underrepresented and greatly differs from your own?

The main character in the book I'm querying is a young, gay boy who is both an artist and a basketball player and I'm ... none of those things. Seriously, not a single one. But I feel I do a good job at writing his story from his point of view (it's in 1st person). How can I write something that is largely underrepresented in literature and something I have no personal experience with?

Empathy.

Probably a writer's greatest tool is the ability to empathize with people who greatly differ from us. Frankly, the more underrepresented, the easier it is to empathize, because I know what it feels like to be seen as the "weirdo" in a group, to hide a part of yourself from friends and family so you aren't ostracized any more than you already are. I don't let anyone I know read my writing. I didn't even tell anyone I'd written a book until I started querying it. I understand what it's like to be a creative-minded person and feel disconnected from the world around me. In that regard, I feel greatly connected to my main character.

I've done a lot of research on art and basketball so I can write scenes with some sense of realism - enough that people who do know about such things won't immediately go "that's not how that works." I'm queer and I was once a teenager, so I can relate to the struggle of accepting one's sexuality and how to go about coming out to friends and family. But my ability to empathize is definitely what allows me to bring my character to life on the page. It's a tool that's greatly useful in the real world, too, but is downright necessary for writing realistic characters.

Using prompts

I regularly practice my writing skills by doing prompts - coming up with short blurbs about my life, my characters' lives, anything that pops into my head upon seeing the prompt. I try to let the words flow naturally without constraining the narrative to fit into any WIP or thinking of it as something I may want to use in the future. I write from prompts just to flex my writing muscles and imagination, and to break out of writer's block if need-be.

Sometimes the prompt inspires me to write about the main character in the work I'm currently querying. I've written scenes that took place in his past, long before the book takes place. These scenes help me better understand my character's thoughts and motivations as I move the story forward. They also help to better understand the side characters and how my MC interacts with them on a regular basis.

However, there has been a time or two when a prompt has inspired a scene that's actually made it into the book. I'll be writing from the prompt, as per usual, and I'll suddenly see how it ties into the story and can actually build upon the work I've already written. It can help tease out relationship dynamics. It can create a new tension between characters. It can help me see a side character in a new light that I want to bring out more in the book. I'm always surprised when a prompt inspires an actual, usable scene.

I highly recommend doing prompts to anyone struggling with their writing. You just never know what you're going to get.

"Manly" friendships in fiction

 

Fiction does men a great disservice when it comes to showcasing friendships. Too often, close male friendships are given homoerotic undertones that give off the impression that there is a romantic or sexual tension between the men, when they are just platonically bonded. In modern shipping culture, fans frequently create ships and fanfiction/fanart that depicts these close friends as being "more than friends". This perception that two men can't be platonically close without there being more to the relationship can make it difficult for men in real life to want to form close bonds with other men, for fear of being misjudged.

In the YA novel I'm currently querying, my main character is a gay teen who's two best friends are both straight boys. Throughout what will likely be at least a 3-book series, he is thought to be dating one or the other on multiple occasions. I considered leaving out this misconception, due to my desire to promote healthy male friendships, but I had to contend with what might realistically happen at a modern high school environment.

As an author, how do I balance modern shipping culture and expectations with what I would like to showcase in my work? How do I show healthy, platonic relationships between men without people trying to "read between the lines"? I haven't come up with an answer to that yet, but it's something I do consider while writing.

Writing by hand

Part of my writing "process" - if that's what I should call it - is to write my first drafts by hand. I have dozens of notebooks, many of them still empty, that I keep close at hand so that I can write when inspiration strikes. I have a hard time coming up with brand new material when I'm typing into my computer. If I already have a good idea of what I want to say, or I'm continuing a scene that is nearly done, I can get fresh material on the computer. But writing by hand is so much easier for me.

Maybe it's because I don't get distracted by typos. Maybe it's easier to strike through a thought and rewrite it rather than delete and try again. But I feel a lot more connected to my writing when I do it by hand.

So, I've been editing a manuscript that I've recently started querying. There was a scene that just plain didn't work. Every time I tried to edit it on the computer, I felt like I was making it worse. Then I'd try stepping away from the computer and rewriting the scene just by hand, but that made the scene go a completely different direction than I'd originally intended. I felt that the answer was somewhere between the scene as it stood in the computer and the scene I'd just free-written. So I copied the scene from my computer into my notebook and looked at it beside the reworked scene I'd written. I began rewriting the scene, combining elements from each version, but doing it all by hand. Finally, I ended up with something I was happy with.

Writing by hand definitely helps unlock my creativity in ways that typing just can't.

Be careful what you query for

I've been querying my debut novel for almost two weeks. So far I have sent out 23 query letters and received 8 rejections. I take each rejection as a chance to improve my querying ability. I take a good look at the letter I sent and the other requirements they asked for, and try to figure out where I might have lost them. A couple of agents have provided some feedback, which I greatly appreciate, but do not expect as I continue this process.

As I was studying how to write a query letter, the number one thing all the advisors said was to personalize the query to the agent. Research their existing clients. Read their wish lists. Stalk them on Twitter/X. Find out what it is that each particular agent is looking for and show how your work meets their desires. I'm trying to do a good job, but it's hard to sell myself - I've never been too good at that. 

But, in doing my research into the agents I've chosen to query, I've also researched the agencies they work for. I read their mission statements and look at their overall clientele, trying to gauge what's important to the company in general. So far, I've come across a couple of companies that I just don't like the sound of. Even if a particular agent on their roster seems like they might be a good fit, the company doesn't.

Granted, I'm still very new to this querying thing, so I don't always trust my instincts on this. There was an agency I queried last week that I was rather dubious about. The agent I selected to contact said that they were open to young adult novels from characters of diverse backgrounds with unique voices. My YA novel has a queer protagonist and a cast from a wide range of ethnicities and sexual preferences. The main conflict in my novel centers around family dynamics, parental pressure, and expectations that come along with going to an elite school, not the diversity of the cast of characters. So, I looked through the authors that the company represents and found a couple of books that had similar conflicts and family dynamics, and mentioned them in my query letter. But, while I was looking through the books they'd gotten published, I noticed a distinct lack of LGBTQIA+ materials. In fact, I couldn't find a single one with a queer protagonist.

I received a rejection the next day, saying it wasn't what they were looking for. Now, my instinct after reading through their clientele was that the "diverse voices" they were looking for did not include non-straight people, but, as that's not the focus of my story, I decided to try them anyway.

Then I got to thinking ... would I want to be repped by a company that regularly dismisses books with non-straight main characters? Even if they were willing to take a chance on my book, perhaps because sexuality is not the main focus, would I want to be associated with a company that's less inclusive than so many other companies that specifically request queer voices?

This is only the first manuscript I've completed and am ready to publish, but I have a ton of stories left in me, just begging to be put on paper. Many of my main characters fall under the category of non-straight. I want to be repped by a company that celebrates that kind of diversity, not just puts up with it. So, I'm going to be a little more careful when researching companies for my upcoming query letters. It's not just about finding an agent willing to take a chance on me, it's about finding a company that I'd be proud to stand beside.

Today's Trope: Tall, Dark, and Broody

 

Some tropes are so popular that the mere mention of Tall, Dark, and Broody makes readers assume they know exactly what's going to happen as the story progresses. Does that mean the trope is overdone, or is in need of reworking?

In the queer YA novel I'm currently querying, my main character is introduced to the new guy in the neighborhood, and I intentionally write him as the tall, dark, and broody type. This makes him incredibly appealing to my main character, and ready to overlook the possible dangers of falling for someone who's so hard to get to know. But I feel like I strayed far enough away from the trope that the readers will still be surprised by the outcome. Did I stray far enough? Did I stray too far? Is there such a thing as straying too far from a trope? Hm. Guess I'll have to wait for the book to get published so I can get feedback from the readers.

Writing a good pitch

 

I've been querying my debut novel for little over a week now, and I'm thinking my hook and pitch aren't strong enough to really grab the attention of a literary agent and could use some feedback.

Part of the problem is that my story has a bit slice-of-life. There's no fantastical element, no sci-fi, no world-building. It's contemporary and realistic fiction. But it's a story that means a lot to me and deals with issues that young people can certainly relate to. How do I put that in a pitch that will make it stand out from other slice-of-life books already out on shelves?

This is the pitch I've used thus far: "A gay former-jock must tackle parental expectations and high school shipping culture while dealing with distractions of old hobbies and new flames."

Boring, I know. It doesn't convey the emotional turmoil he's dealing with or the stakes of the decisions he must make throughout the book. But how do I summarize all the tension of a 79K word book into one sentence?

"Setting himself up for the future his mother envisions wasn't in his plans for his sophomore year of high school, neither was coming out of the closet, but expectations at home and pressures at school mean difficult decisions must be made, and soon."

Better?

Ugh. Why does this have to be so hard?

Why writers have fuzzy pets

As an aspiring writer, I find myself spending a lot of time alone in my room. I write best in near quiet, usually on my bed, by hand in one of my many many notebooks, but sometimes on my laptop. I need the quiet in order to hear the voices of my characters telling me what happens next. This means that I spend a lot of time away from my family and the heart of the house.

Writing can be a lonely process. I have to have a day-job to pay the bills, so I don't get to see my family during the day. Then I spend the evening writing and researching (or getting distracted by the internet while attempting to write or research - let's be honest). So it's nice to have a companion. Wiley Coyote is a total snuggle bug and loves to just sit next to me while I work. He's quiet and gentle, but his constant presence is reassuring. I'd love to be able to curl up on the couch downstairs and hang out with my family while creating new worlds, but at least I don't have to go through this whole writing process completely alone.

Description vs Dialogue

Since I've started querying my first novel, I'm going through it and trying to read it from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about the story or my characters or this world. It's set in the real world - no fantasy element - but I made up a private school and set it in a real town that I've never been to.

I always thought I was particularly good at writing dialogue. I was even complimented for it by my creative writing teacher back in college. Now I wonder if I might be too good at writing dialogue and action and not good enough at writing descriptions. I seldom include vivid details of rooms people are in, smells they experience, distant sounds, clothes they're wearing. Unless those details directly matter to the plot, I naturally omit them.

Is that a problem? Will readers have a hard time getting sucked into the world if they don't "see" it the same what that I do? I know what everything looks like, smells like, sounds like - I've lived this story for a couple of years now. I want to make sure my readers can experience it as well. But descriptive writing doesn't come easy to me. Sometimes it feels forced, and I worry that it looks forced when I include it out of context to the action. So, where's the line between description for description's sake, and description that advances the plot?

Getting ahead of myself

 

I'm still in the process of editing book 1 in my series, and I've already started writing draft 2 of book 3! Why am I doing this to myself? It's distracting me from doing the work that I need to be doing right now.

And yet, it's not.

There were things I didn't realize I needed to include in book 1 until I started writing books 2 and 3. There were relationships I needed to set up and characters I needed to introduce. Things that were relevant to later parts of the story that I didn't want to just show up out of nowhere. I've read some book series (that shall remain nameless) that made the mistake of not introducing a very important plot point until the last book. It was jarring. Any attempt to figure out where the story was going was dashed by the late arrival of new information. I don't want to do that to my readers.

I try to at least outline my stories before I write them. But my outlines tend to get ignored by my characters. They take the story where they want it to go and I have to scramble to keep up. Once I know where the story is going, then I can go back and set it up so it makes sense to the reader. Sometimes that means going all the way back to the beginning (book 1) to set up something important that happens much later on (book 3).

I just started querying literary agents with book 1 of my potential 6 book series. Days after I sent out my first query letter, I realized what the major conflict would be for book 3 - something I'd been struggling with for over a year. Now I'm looking back at my already submitted manuscript to see if there's anything I need to change in order to set things up just right. Maybe I jumped the gun with sending out queries. I know I have time to change the manuscript - it hasn't even been accepted by an agent yet, let alone a publisher. I'm glad I have the time to work on it some more. I want readers to enjoy the whole series, not just book 1. It all has to work together.

Proofreading vs. Editing

 

Preparing my manuscript to be submitted to literary agents involved a lot of proofreading. I wanted to show them that I can write clearly and precisely. After all, my day-job involves a lot of attention to detail, so I've gotten used to being exact with my written communications.

But maybe I spent time proofreading - looking through the story for grammatical errors and misplaced commas - and not enough time editing the story for content. Sure, I've fixed scenes that were awkward or more exposition than action. I made sure the characters that are supposed to be likeable are likeable. Now I'm worried that I overlooked something rather important to storytelling.

My writing has always been very action driven. I have a lot of dialogue, I show my main character's internal conflict through self-narration. But I don't do a whole lot of scene setting. Unless it's relevant to the action, I tend not to mention what anyone's wearing or the physical layout of spaces. I very seldom include scent. When writing the manuscript, I was so focused on explaining to the reader what happens, I'm not sure I did enough work on describing where it was happening. Will a reader be able to see the world I've created.

I'm not sure, and I'm not sure it my minimal descriptions hurt my storytelling.

I currently have 15 queries out in the world, waiting to see what literary agents have to say about my writing. I'm not going to send out any more queries until I go through my manuscript with a descriptive eye. Can a reader see what I see? I know the story so well. I can see every scene in my mind. I know what people look like, how their voice sounds, what they wear. Will a reader get enough of that to have a vivid experience of the story themselves? That's what I want to focus on right now. How vivid is my writing?

Welcome to the world of the Query

Apparently, there is an art to sending out query letters to literary agents. I haven't quite figured out what that art is just yet. I sent out my first wave of queries a few days ago and have already received a handful of "no thank you"s. Not surprising. I'm a nobody with no social media presence, and my manuscript needs editing help. But that's why I'm reaching out to them - to get the editing help my novel needs to prepare it for publication. There's only so much advice my beta readers can give me.

So, how do I get a literary agent to bite the hook that I've sent out? How do I make the bait more enticing?

The query letter is where you set the stage. It should certainly be personalized to the agent you're contacting. Researching their current client list is a good start - letting them know how your work will fit with what they already sell. If they've posted a wish list somewhere, show that you've read it and tell them how your work meets those wishes.

Next comes the hook. Think of any book you've picked up off the shelf at a bookstore. Something about the title or cover image has caught your eye. What's the first thing you do? Flip it over and read the back cover to see what the book is about. That's the hook. That's how you catch a reader, and it's how you catch a literary agent. Or at least get them to keep reading your query.

A lot of submission instructions ask for an author bio. They want to know about your writing creds. Technically, I don't have any. All I can say is that I'm college educated, neurodivergent, and a member of the LGBTQIA+ alphabet gang. Diversity is usually a welcome addition for debut authors, so you want to list out what makes you different.

Then comes the "sample" ... bum bum bum! They want to see your actual writing. Five pages. Ten pages. I just did one that asked for 25 pages. They want to get a feel for the story you're trying to sell them, your style of writing, your voice. 

I love my story. I love my characters. I tried so hard to bring my characters to life on the page. But did I do a good job? Is the story good enough? Is this the part of the query when I lose their interest? That's my fear. I can work on the query letter. I can work on drafting a better hook. But the novel is about as polished as I can get it on my own. I can edit it until my fingers bleed into my computer keys, but all I'm doing at this point is moving commas and trading out one word for another. If my work isn't evocative enough or my characters aren't likeable, I need someone to tell me so that I know what to fix.

I wish the agents that rejected me would tell me where I lost them. Give me something to go from! At this point, all I can do is guess ... and stress.

*sigh*