KEEPING IT SIMPLE: MANAGING YOUR NOVEL WRITING

Perhaps many of you approach writing a novel (or any other type of book) as I did. The process I used was to start with chapter one and then go on to chapter two and so on until I had a manuscript draft. This seemed to be working fine for me but I never completed a final draft of my books or novels. My friend and co-author of my book on education, Steve Sonntag, showed me a more efficient way to write a book.

CHAPTERS AS SEPARATE DOCUMENTS

When Steve and I were writing our education book The Family Link to Education, he showed me how I could better manage my chapters by keeping them as separate documents. This allowed me to approach each chapter as a separate project and focus all of my mental energy on one chapter at a time. The result was that I completed my chapters much faster and with much more quality to the content.

After my experience with the book on education, I asked myself Could that chapter as a separate document system work with novel writing? Well, there was only one way to find out.

The first thing I did was to divide the chapters of my mother’s memoir manuscript into separate files on my computer. The results were immediate! I was able to concentrate on a topic much easier when my focus was on a single chapter. Cool! But will it work with novels?

CHAPTERS BECOME PARTS AND PARTS BECOME BOOKS

I have been working on a fantasy novel for more than ten years now and I’d love to finish and publish it. Of course, I have no one to blame but myself for not completing my novel because I keep getting in my own way. The typical obstacle that I place in my path is a change in priorities; my fantasy novel is usually at the bottom of the list. In fact, I often put others’ writing projects ahead of my own. Knowing myself, I knew I wasn’t likely to change that habit, so I needed to do things differently.

The best solution I could come up with was to divide the chapters of my fantasy novel manuscript into separate computer documents. My manuscript consisted of over 120,000 words and it was an absolute beast to manage. So, I first broke the manuscript up into parts. For example, Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. This worked fine for a short while, but each part consisted of several chapters, so things quickly became unmanageable again. I decided that what I needed to do was to keep each part in a separate computer file and then keep each chapter as a separate document in those files. It worked great!

Another benefit of separating parts and chapters into separate files and documents was discovering that I actually had more than one fantasy novel manuscript. I have four fantasy novel manuscripts! Looking at the parts broken down into chapters allowed me to more thoroughly develop the characters, which changed the plots that drive character motivation. I’m not sure if I would have ever discovered that hidden treasure (four fantasy novels for the price of one effort) if I hadn’t separated those chapters and parts.

If you are having trouble managing your book manuscript, try dividing your chapters into separate computer documents. You might also want to try breaking up the manuscript into parts and then breaking those parts into chapters.

Having Your Writing Talent Validated

Recently I learned that my screenplay “They Played Soccer” had made it to the final round of the Beverly Hills Film Festival screenwriting competition and has been selected as one of the screenplays to be featured at this year’s (2019) BHFF event in Beverly Hills, California. This was wonderful news! I felt validated as a screenwriter, but this is definitely not my first screenplay. So what makes this experience different from other experiences? There are a few answers to that question.

My early experiences with scriptwriting involved projects with very small independent film and video production companies. In fact, on several occasions, the producers and directors were just as inexperienced as was I. However, I learned a lot about screenwriting in those early days because the scripts were for immediate production, and were not spec scripts. Unfortunately, life happened and I had to discontinue writing, as I have mentioned previously in other blog posts.

This past year I had a resurgence in writing with the publication of my coauthored book on education and my copywriting job in the fourth quarter. I continue to work on my fantasy novel, my mother’s memoirs, a technical handbook, and another collaborative book project. In addition to those projects, I am part of a sort of film production company reboot with a veteran filmmaker and a few newcomers to the film industry. Okay, so all of this is leading up to my answer to why this latest screenwriting experience is unique.

I have been on a sort of long hiatus from screenwriting since the 1990s, so to have my latest screenplay be recognized as a contender among other film-worthy screenplays is a really big deal. The other reason why it is different to have validation with this screenplay is that it was judged by seasoned Hollywood professionals, which tells me that I have the talent and skill to sell scripts to one of the bigger film production companies. Well, at least to pitch an idea that would be of interest to them.

I hope to provide an update after the Beverly Hills Film Festival to tell you how my screenplay did in the final judging. Stay tuned.

 

The Family Link to Education

Well, it’s finally here! Mine and Steve Sonntag’s book titled The Family Link to Education: The Road to Personal and Professional Success is being promoted by Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

This was a two-year effort, and it culminates now with a dream that I have had for a very long time as a writer; to be able to walk into a Barnes & Noble store and see my name on a book that is sitting on their shelves. This is only the beginning because I have several more books in progress.

Keep writing and never quit, and someday you will see the benefits and rewards of your perseverance and hard work.

 

HOORAY FOR HOLLYWOOD!

I just entered my very first screenplay contest, and it surprises me how satisfying it is to be able to say that. I have written at least a dozen film, television, and video scripts, and about half of those were produced into film or video content. Ironically, I cannot claim any valid writing credits for those efforts, but only that I did them. Now, after a very long absence from the video, television, and film industry, I find myself directly involved with film and television production. It is as if I have come full circle.

About thirty-five years ago my martial arts instructor, Roman V. Neri, Jr., called me to ask if I would like to write the screenplay for a motion picture that he and Hollywood stunt-actor/martial artist, Harry Mok, were going to make. I answered “Yes, I’d love to!” Then after a brief silence, I added “What is a screenplay?” That is how my screenwriting career got started.

I would soon learn that the script format for a one hour television drama and a full-length motion picture were very different. I also had to learn that there is a difference between half-hour situation comedy scripts and one hour drama scripts; as well as a screenplay that you use while shooting a film and one that you use to shop your script of to get a literary agent.

Soon I was familiar with terms pitch, synopsis, treatment, script breakdown, and magazine script. I volunteered with independent video and film production companies, and learned about audio, lighting, floor directing, and studio camera operation. I would see the complexities of short film production, talk-show production, marketing and promotional video production, music video production, and television variety show production.

In the early days, I did what I could to improve my writing skills by enrolling in writing courses, attending screenwriting seminars, and accepting every opportunity to write for independent production companies. Those were difficult days because there was no pay, which put a strain on my family. My wife took a second job, while I worked one low paying job and continued to pursue my screenwriting career. Unfortunately, my writing career was not progressing.

I had to face reality, and put more emphasis on finding a better paying job that came with a steady paycheck and better health benefits. To make matters worse, there was a layoff at my company, and my position was eliminated. Suddenly, I had to get even more serious about finding a job. After two years of working two part-time jobs, temporary jobs, and a maintenance man job, I finally found a full-time job that allowed me to quit the two part-time jobs. That full-time job was my introduction into the wireless telecommunications industry.

That first wireless telecom job turned into a 28 year career. Along the way, I was able to earn a bachelor of arts degree, a master of arts degree, and a PhD degree; all with most of the tuition paid by my company. My education began to open doors of opportunity that I had never considered. My wireless telecommunications career came to an end in November of 2017, which was not official until the end of December 2017. Before my layoff and subsequent separation package, there were rumors that a layoff was coming. My wife suggested that if given the opportunity to take a severance, then I should take the opportunity and them just focus on writing. Afterall, like my blog says, I love to write.

Well, I’m writing and I’m loving it. Today I find myself consulting as a content writer and technical writing; I love doing both. Now doors have opened for me to pursue my screenwriting, including taking on a role of assistant producer for a film and television production company. Of course, writing for film and television is almost like playing the lottery because there are no guarantees that you will see a return on the time that you invest in developing projects. However, there is something extremely rewarding in being able to earn a living doing what you love to do, and for me that is writing!

Writing Here Writing There Writing Everywhere!

Since my departure from my job as a wireless telecommunications “Engineer IV Specialist – Equipment” back in December of 2017, I have been putting much more energy into my writing. In fact, I am currently working part time as a web content writer, and it has been a wonderful experience.

Besides, my web content writing part-time job, I have been focusing on completing my second co-authored nonfiction book, finally completing a screenplay I have been working on for several years, and co-authoring a series of technical handbooks for non-technical professionals working in the wireless telecommunications industry.

My greatest challenge in writing is balancing my time between my various writing projects. An acquaintance of mine shared with me something that he learned about balancing time and setting priorities. He said he learned to work by the F.O.C.U.S. principle, which is “Follow one course until successful.” Wise words indeed.

I have decided to try the “FOCUS” principle on a day-to-day basis; meaning I will only work on two writing projects on any particular day. Since my web content writing job brings home the proverbial bacon, it has to have at least five days of focus a week along with one other writing project on those days.

The other writing projects are the technical handbook series, my second nonfiction book, my mother’s memoirs, and my fantasy novel. So, the goal is to have at least one day out of the week where I am focused on my web content and one other writing project. My “successful” completion will be based on a set goal each day.

Give the F.O.C.U.S. principle a try to see if it works for you.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WRITER AND AN ASPIRING WRITER?

I have been writing for more than 30 years, and like just about every other person passionate about creating written text, I have explored numerous resources to help me to become a writer. Here are just a few of the resources I have explored:

1. Local Newspaper Reporter: After completing my Associate in Arts in mass communications with a journalism emphasis, I began to look for opportunities to work as a reporter. I had gained some experience as a reporter for a community college newsletter and felt that I at least had enough experience to land an entry level job. Unfortunately, it was not that easy. The closest I ever got to becoming a newspaper reporter was signing on with a startup weekly newspaper, but I spent most of my two-month stint trying to sale ad space.
2. Magazine Editor: My next writing “job” was as editor-in-chief of a local magazine focused on the hair stylist and beauty salon industry. We managed to get three issues published, but we could not sale enough ad space to keep the magazine up and running; that, and I was not getting paid for my time.
3. Writing Programs: Next, I enrolled in three different writing programs to improve my creative writing skills. One of the programs was geared towards teaching its students how to write children’s fiction. Another program was focused on Christian Writers, and the third program was focused on improving the novel writing skills of its students. I only completed one of the three programs and earned my certificate of completion for the Christian Writers Guild.
4. Script Writing: One afternoon I received a call from my martial arts instructor, asking if I would like to write a “screenplay” for a local film production. Of course, I heard the word “write” and immediately answered “Yes.” A moment later, I asked “What is a screenplay?” My martial arts instructor gave me a copy of an old television drama shooting script, and I used that format to write the first draft of the screenplay. A year later I discovered that I was using the incorrect format, and the script was never produced into a motion picture. However, that all mattered little to me because I was hooked on scriptwriting. Over the next couple of decades, I would write scripts for a stage play, several industrial video productions, a television variety show (never aired beyond local cable), two fan-fiction Star Trek scripts (not produced), three independent films (none were produced), a solo dramatic reading, and a filmmaking student produced film. I have written more than a dozen scripts or film treatments, but none have ever been sold. I even joined a filmmaking alliance that was focused on producing family friendly films, and almost had two of my film treatments advanced to production by a panel of peer screenwriters, directors and film enthusiasts.
5. Novels & Short Stories: About the same time that I was writing for the community college newspaper, I began working on an adventure novel, and even had one of my professors read a draft of the novel. I actually began writing the novel in long hand and later rewrote it using a typewriter. I still have a copy of that novel draft, but it will take a major revision to get it ready for publication. I also began writing and submitting short stories and received more than three dozen rejections before my one and only short story publication.
6. Poetry: I actually began writing poetry in high school as part of an assignment for a creative writing class. I rediscovered my love of poetry when I was married and wrote volumes of poetry for my wife. Later I began to write poetry for online poetry communities.
7. Creative Writing Degree: After earning by bachelors in organizational communications, I decided to pursue a masters in English with a creative writing emphasis. After completing my masters, I continued to work on screenplays, short stories and novels. I have a half a dozen of each collecting proverbial dust on storage devices and cloud storage.
8. How-To Articles: I have published 19 how-to type articles online and received a small payment for each article. While it has been a while since I have been paid to write an article, I still enjoy technical writing.
9. Non-Fiction Books: My co-authored book on titled The Family Link to Education: The Road to Personal and Professional Success (to be published September 2018) is my first legitimate book publication; not counting my Masters thesis (a published collection of short stories) or my doctoral dissertation. I am currently working on a second co-authored non-fiction book that I hope to publish in 2019.

Here is a question to consider:

Was I a writer or an aspiring writer before my how-to articles or my soon to be published non-fiction book?

Even before the how-to articles, I had received a couple hundred dollars payment here and there from individuals and small production companies for a few of my writing assignments. So, does getting paid for writing make you a legitimate writer or does the very process of writing make you a writer? It is a complicated question, and the answer probably depends on who you ask. For example, a literary agent is only interested in the person who can write well and write a complete manuscript, but a hiring manager probably wants someone with publication credits.

My personal belief is that a writer is anyone with a passion for creating written text, and with the discipline to complete a draft. I am, however, aware of the distinction that academics and publishers make between a writer and an aspiring writer. Anyone who is published or who earns an income from writing is a writer, and all others who write are aspiring writers. The latter, however, is more perception than it is semantically accurate. I say this because aspire means to hope to obtain a goal, so if your goal is to write and poem, and then you write a poem, you are a poet.

The definition of writer has become synonymous with good writer, while aspiring writing has become synonymous with someone who is still developing their skill as a writer. If you enjoy writing and you have completed writing projects (poetry, short stories, novels, how-to articles or screenplays), then you are a writer. It does not matter if you are published or if you have been paid for your efforts, but if you aspire to become a good writer, then that is the subject of another blog post.

MY FIRST BOOK PUBLICATION!

As a writer you will probably set goal for yourself along the way, and I am certainly no exception to that rule. Unfortunately, my goals have almost always been too ambitious or simply unrealistic. For example, I used to think that I could write a screenplay, sell it to Hollywood, and have a completed film in less than one year. Though I am not sure how long the average concept to motion picture takes, I feel confident to say that on average it takes more than one year from concept to screenplay to motion picture.

Another misconception was the length of time it takes to write and publish a book. In my defense, there are more than just a few stories about authors cranking out books in just a couple of months; so, I was misled by these extraordinary examples. Recently I signed my very first book contract with publishers Rowman & Littlefield. Although I have been writing for more that 30 years, I must admit that signing a book publishing contract was a thrill.

The title of the book is The Family Link to Education: The Road to Personal and Professional Success, and it was coauthored with educator and published book author Steve Sonntag. The contract with Rowman & Littlefield was the culmination of a two-year writing endeavor, and even now there is a lot of work to be done before the book is available for purchase from retailers. In fact, the latter may take another year, so the actual length of time from beginning to publication will be three years.

My book project has been a real education from the very start. The latter was even more so because my coauthor and education associate, Steve Sonntag, had been through the process several times before starting our book project, and was able to instruct me along the way. Paragraph length, citations, and even font size had specific restrictions and formats. There was one expectation that was particularly difficult for me to adjust to, and that was relying more on my own knowledge and less on the expert knowledge of others.

Before this book, I only had two other book publication experiences, and those were my masters thesis and my doctoral dissertation. With my masters thesis and doctoral dissertation, there was an expectation and requirement to cite sources for any theoretical assumptions; however, with this current book, there was an opposite expectation. Although the book falls within the category of education, the expectation was that I could boldly assert a theory without citing any sources for reference. That was difficult because for the last decade and a half any nonfiction that I wrote had to have references; including my how-to articles.

Now that I have signed my first book contract, I am focusing more on getting other book manuscripts completed, and hope to have contracts for those within a year to two years.

 

 

SOME BAD HABITS OF GOOD WRITERS

There are many common errors that most people make when writing. Perhaps the most common medium for gross grammatical errors is e-mail. It is not uncommon to see something like this in a rushed e-mail:

meeting today 4:00 american conference room

The issues with this sentence would be obvious to most of the recipients of the e-mail, including the person who wrote it, but this sort of negligent business writing is becoming more and more common. What is the reason for the sudden disregard for proper grammar in the workplace? There are probably many legitimate answers to that question, but none will change the fact that we should use proper grammar whenever we are communicating in a formal setting.

Here is at least one way that e-mail could have been written:

There is a meeting today at 4:00 p.m. in the American conference room.

Although the above sentence does not give any specific details about the meeting other than place and time, it at lease represents the sender as professional and literate.

THE BAD HABITS OF GOOD WRITERS

While it is certainly not acceptable for business professionals in a corporate setting to send e-mails that read as if they were written by a kindergarten student, it is even more disturbing when a professional writer takes on some of those bad habits.

Just as we are prone to acquiring the social habits of our associates, writers are prone to the writing habits of their associates. Unfortunately some social habits are socially unacceptable, and some writing habits are professionally unacceptable.

COMMA SPLICES

One of the bad habits of good writers are comma splices. The format of the following sentence is something that is becoming more and more common:

We have decided to discontinue the calamari spinach salad, very few people ordered it. (incorrect)

On the surface it appears to be fine, but it is actually incorrect. The sentence should be rewritten with a conjunction separating the two clauses or it should be separated into two sentences:

We have decided to discontinue the calamari spinach salad because very few people ordered it. (correct)

We have decided to discontinue the calamari spinach salad. Very few people ordered it. (correct)

There are also ways to separate clauses in a sentence with a comma without committing a comma splice violation:

Since very few people ordered it, we decided to discontinue the calamari spinach salad.

Very few people ordered it, so we decided to discontinue the calamari spinach salad.

ADVERBS vs ADJECTIVES

One of the most common violations of the adverb is when we answer one of the most often asked questions everyday, “How are you?” Many people respond “I’m good.” Although that response is generally accepted, it is incorrect because “good” is an adjective. The question How are you? is really asking How are you doing? and since doing is a verb, the response to how you are doing requires an adverb in response:

How are you? or How are you doing?

I’m good. (incorrect)

I’m well. or I’m doing well. (correct)

Here are some other examples of how the adverb well should be used in place of the adjective good:

She writes good. (incorrect)

She writes well. (correct)

Be careful not to be confused by the position of the verbs and nouns in the sentence:

He edits his writing good. (incorrect)

He edits his writing well. (correct)

Although writing can be a verb, it is a noun in the sentence above, and the verb is edits. The following would be correct:

His writing is good. (correct)

Since writing is a noun in the sentence above, it is appropriate to use the adjective good to describe the noun writing.

TRUST YOUR OWN CREATIVITY

I guess I should first apologize for missing the remaining writing prompts for April, and for not posting anything for the first two weeks of May. Now, let’s get into some writing prompts for the remainder of May.

CONTINUE REVIEWING GRAMMATICAL STRUCTURE

Let’s continue reviewing grammatical structure with the goal of becoming so proficient that grammatical errors seem to jump off of the pages and offend our senses when we are reading literary passages.

You will recall that I mentioned several free online resources for grammar reference, but you are welcome to find your own. There are also free interactive online grammar courses that you can take as a refresher from time to time. I recommend this

TRUST YOUR OWN CREATIVITY

For the remainder of May I want us to focus on trusting our own creativity. Once we have mastered grammatical structure, we need to learn to trust our creative potential and not rely so much on what others (even bestselling others and professors of writing) have to say in regards to creativeness.

To be sure, we can learn things like narrative point of view or dramatic structure from those who have mastered it, but we should probably rely less on their input when it comes to creating our characters and the world in which we place them.

For example, my wife and I were recently visiting family in Utah, and during our trip we stopped by to visit some friends of the family. One of these friends is a budding science fiction and fantasy writer, and has been very active in attending writing workshops and reading about fantasy writing. A comment came up about a workshop for how to develop a language for characters of a fantasy world, and I was a bit taken aback.

My reason for being apprehensive about having someone teach other writers how to develop a language for their fantasy characters is that I believe it intrudes on the creative ability of a writer. It is not a bad thing to go to others for help or suggestions on developing the language of your fantasy world, but be sure to trust your own creativity.

If I were going to give someone advice on how to develop a language for their fantasy world, I would suggest that they go to the dictionary and study how words are phonetically broken down. I would also suggest that they try to develop a masculine and feminine version of names and try not to be too redundant. Literate characters usually use contractions (isn’t, aren’t, wasn’t, etc.) and illiterate characters typically use monosyllabic speech patterns. That is really all you need to know about developing an alien or fantasy language.

Now give it a try. Be sure to think of unique animals, plants, insects and places to add to your fantasy world’s language. You can also have several languages. Also, be sure to create a glossary or dictionary that describes what the words mean.

 

WEEK OF APRIL 9th: WRITING PROMPT – PUNCTUATE IT!

Before I get into punctuation, I want to talk a little more about why I chose grammar as the topic for the month of April.

After reading some of my claims about how seasoned professional writers still commit grammatical errors, you might be asking yourself “Why should I waste my time learning correct grammar if successful writers still commit grammatical errors?” That is a very good question, but the answer is simple.

As we familiarize ourselves more and more with correct grammatical structure, the more likely we are to create written passages that read more fluidly. The more grammatically graceful the writing, the more intriguing and attractive it will be to the reader. It is less important that you perfect your grammar, than you constantly improve your grammar. Similar to any other skill, the more you practice your grammar skills the better you will become with executing them. Even at your current stage of writing – no matter your level of experience – you are using correct grammatical structure without ever giving it a second thought.

As in the subject-verb agreement exercise from last week, you normally write sentences with a subject and verb. You might dress them up with catchy prepositional phrases, but in the end you will have a sentence with a subject and a verb.

PUNCTUATE IT!

I will use a few sentences from the section on the week of April 9th writing prompt to demonstrate how changing the punctuation in a sentence can enhance its meaning. Now I am not going to get so trivial as to demonstrate how you can change a statement into a question by rearranging the order of the subject and verb in a sentence, but I will demonstrate how you can give a sentence more impact by how you punctuate it.

Example One: Original Sentence – Conjunction

In this week we will look for ways to improve a sentence by changing the placement of a comma or by replacing a conjunction with a colon or semicolon.

Example One: Revised Sentence – Colon & Semicolon

In this week we will look for ways to improve a sentence: by changing the placement of a comma; by replacing a conjunction with a colon or semicolon.

Example Two: Original Sentence – Conjunction

The original version may actually read better than the revised version, but there is no harm in exploring.

Example Two: Revised Sentence – Semicolon

The original version may actually read better than the revised version; there is no harm in exploring.

Example Three: Original Sentence – Comma & Parenthesis

After all, two writes won’t make it wrong (sorry, but I just couldn’t resist it).

Example Three: Revised Sentence – Period & New Sentence

After all, two writes won’t make it wrong. Sorry, but I just couldn’t resist it.

Example Four: Original Sentence

We will also look at when it is appropriate and inappropriate to use ellipses.

Example Four: Revised Sentence With Incorrect Use of Ellipses

. . . also look at when it is appropriate and inappropriate to use ellipses.

Example Four: Revised Sentence With Correct Use of Ellipses

We will also look at when it is appropriate . . .  to use ellipses.

“. . . appropriate and inappropriate to use ellipses.”