Writers Diary – Page 2 – Read First Chapter.com

Eight Tips to Keep on Track During the First Draft of a Novel Manuscript

ONE:  Turn Off Smart Quotes and Sentence Case Correction.

Smart-quotes-straight-quotesTurn these Scrivener features off, especially if you plan to move your finished novel draft into Microsoft Word for final formatting.   Because I self-publish and I need to upload in ePub and PDF manuscript, I use Word for a final proofread and formatting.   I find Word is the best choice for me.  The smart quotes do not translate well between Scrivener and Word.  If you turn off the smart quotes, Scrivener will replace them with straight quotes and these translate better.

There is really no upside to using smart quotes in a novel.  This is not a feature that will prevent you from leaving out a quote.  It's really useless for an author, so its best to shut this feature off.

The sentence case correction will not allow you to add a lower case letter after a period.  This doesn't seem like it would be a problem, but at least once during a first or follow-up draft there's a time when this auto correct starts wrestling with me when I'm trying to do something.  So I shut it off now at the beginning.

If you search "auto correct" in the Scrivener help bar, you will be able to open up this feature and uncheck these two items.  You'll thank me for it later.

Also, there is a whole layer of proofreading that I'll be making a blog post about in my Peek Behind the Novel series where I will show you how I use the find feature to check on every single quote mark.  I've always had at least one or two that almost got away!  So the smart quotes are nothing but a nuisance.

TWO:  JUST KEEP WRITING - DON'T LOOK BACK:

typing-hands-gifI'm writing my fourth novel in the Jack Nolan Detective Series.  The book is still unnamed.  This is Level 4 in my Eight Levels of Writing a Novel series.  This first draft is down and dirty.  It is the hardest lift of the entire project.  At least for me, the first draft is the hardest.  The characters all seem like stick figures.  I find them unlikeable -- even if I liked them in the last book!  Any humor doesn't seem to work.  Everything just seems awkward.  I have to literally force myself to keep typing.   So this tip is to just keep writing.  Don't check on any spellings or grammar.  Don't even look back.  Just keep going until you have the crime down, the main plotline down and the subplots at least in place.  That will complete the first down-and-dirty draft.  Every other layer will be easy compared to this one.



THREE:  YOU CAN DO RESEARCH NOW ON THE FLY

do research on the fly with bardWith bard.google.com, now it's possible to do research on the fly when writing fiction.  Simply open a browser window, type in bard.google.com and start asking it questions.

Unlike ChatGPT, Bard is a Google AI product supposedly still in beta form, but it works like a charm.  Unlike ChatGPT, it can research using the internet.  ChatGPT is limited by time; the cutoff for ChatGPT the last time I checked was sometime in September of 2021 I believe.  The cut off of what it  can access is now way over a year ago.  So I find that Bard is a better option for book research so you can get the latest.

FOUR:  USE THE SCRIVENER HIGHLIGHTER AS A REMINDER:

scrivener-highlighterScrivener allows you to highlight text in any color you want.  I use this highlighter in the Level 4 Draft to make a mental note to myself to check on things.  For example:  If I say that someone is coming home from a hospital in four days, I highlight this.  This makes sure that this lines up with the plotline, or the crime line, or the subplot lines.

As an author, I will often tweak the script, especially as I'm writing.  It's too easy to forget this early reference to five days.  By highlighting it, it's a reminder that this timing needs to line up with something later on in the story.  I find this highlighter a great author tool.

FIVE:  LEAVE THE POV | TIME | LOCATION HEADERS IN THE DRAFT:

scene templateLike I mentioned earlier, I'm in the first draft of my novel and each scene begins with the same Scene Template as seen to the left.

I leave the POV, which stands for Point of View at the top of each scene during the first draft.  I don't choose the POV before I write the scene.  I write the scene and see which character claims the scene.  Then I assign that one character to the scene.

POINT OF VIEW:  By keeping the POV at the top of the scene, it's a reminder to me to make sure the entire scene is in this one point of view.  I admit that I allow myself one small head jump at the end of a scene.  I'm a self-published author, so I can indulge myself and get away with this.  I believe a reader can handle one head jump at the end of a scene for the purpose of informing them of what the other character thinks at one time.  I don't believe one head jump creates that big of a problem.

TIME AND LOCATION:  By leaving the Time and Location information at the top of each  scene, it is a reminder to make sure I describe the scene and whoever else may need a description in that scene.  In Layer 5 of my writing system, I go through all the scenes and add descriptions of the locations and people.  So this information makes that level of writing easier.



SIX:  KEEPING TRACK OF MULTIPLE TIMELINES:

I write Christian mystery romance, private investigator mysteries and police procedurals.  By leaving the timings in the header to each scene, it allows me to keep track of the story timeline.  I am always keeping track of multiple timelines in each novel.  I have the crime timeline.  Then there is the timeline of the investigation and the dropping of the clues.  And the subplots also have a timeline as each book has at least a small character arc.  This is because I write in series and the characters have one small character arc in each novel.

So that's a minimum of three timelines that I need to track.  So keeping these timelines at the top of the scenes as I go from layer to layer of writing, it makes it easier to make sure things are lining up on each timeline.

I keep these headers inside the manuscript draft until I'm ready to put the book into chapters.

SEVEN:  ADDING ADDITIONAL SCENES WHEN WRITING THE FIRST DRAFT:

There comes a time or two when I will decide to add a short scene or two.  It may just be to have a change in the point of view or to get the characters to a different location.  Whatever, it is, I use three asterisks between these two separate scenes.  I also start the second scene with my normal Scene Template.

This allows me to know this is a separate scene and it will have a point of view.  It also alerts me that I will need to insert a scene ending which I won't do until I bring the manuscript into Microsoft Word.

EIGHT:  USE SCRIVENER SYNOPSIS SECTION TO KEEP TRACK OF CLUES DROPPED:

Scrivener-Synopsis-SectionWhen writing the first draft, I use the Scrivener Synopsis section in the Inspector Pane to list the clues I have dropped in that scene.  Once I've finished the first draft, I can open the project in Outline View and this will give me a bird's eye view and chronology of the clues that have been dropped.

Personally, I often also add background information that I dropped in the scene.  I do this only because I have a tendency to forget whether I dropped that background information in the present novel or if my memory of dropping it is from the last novel I wrote!

This alone is a major reason why I love writing drafts in Scrivener.

CONCLUSION:

So these are the tips I would pass on about writing this first draft of a novel.  Knowing that it's the hardest allows me to know that once I make it through this first draft, all subsequent layers of writing will be easy peasy compared to this one.

All I need to do is to blurt out the entire story in the first draft.  All corrections, additions, deletes and polish will come in later layers.



The Top 10 Obstacles to Finishing a Novel

PEEK BEHIND THE NOVEL

I'm in the weeds!

scrivener-peek-behind-the-novelI am knee-deep in Level 4 of writing the next book in the Jack Nolan Detective Series.  I thought this would be a good time for me to take a break and reflect on what happens when I'm 'in the weeds' writing a novel.

Even though all writers have a different writing routine, I would venture a guess that most of us feel some of the same fears and face some of the same obstacles.

STARTING A NOVEL IS EASY:

DP-drawing-woman-and-computerWhen you first sit down to write a novel, everyone is filled with enthusiasm and creative energy.  It's exciting.  It's new.  But as the manuscript begins to grow, before it feels finished -- or even ready to be polished, it feels cumbersome, heavy, and overwhelming.  At least for me it does.

FEAR OF FAILURE:

Even though the story and plotline felt great at the beginning, there comes a point where a fear of failure sets in.  Am I going to be able to finish this?  Does this plotline even make sense?  What happens if this storyline is not that great?  Maybe this mystery isn't enough.  Maybe the dots are not going to all connect.

woman-fearfulIt's possible to get paralyzed by a fear of failure at any point during the writing of a novel.  It's not a one-and-done operation.  No one sits down, starts writing, finishes writing and ta-da, there's a book.   Writing a novel doesn't work that way.  It's a long process.  It's a multi-layer process.

When these fears pop up, and they will, it's important to remember that many writers feel these doubts and fears.  It's important to remember that everyone of us fails at something at some point in our lives.  The good news is any novel can be redone, re-written, revamped, added to, or massaged in any number to go from mediocre to great.  It's a work of art in progress until it's handed over to the publisher.  Knowing this is empowering.



WRITERS BLOCK:

DP-writers-block-womanWriters block is another common problem among authors.  This often sets in after that initial period of excitement about the novel wears off.  At some point the writing of the novel shifts into a project requiring some heavy lifting.  There's always a phase or two where the author has to tough it out.  We have to keep at it.

It's important to know ahead of time that writer's block may set in at any time while you're writing.  I find that deciding to just sit down and go over what I've written 'to get my place' or to 'get into the flow of it' is enough to get over any writer's block.  Just by sitting down and starting to read through it, the project recaptures me.  Even on days I feel I have nothing in me, I can suddenly be pulled into writing before I even know it's happening.  If you can commit to look at your project for fifteen minutes, this can be enough to recapture your enthusiasm.

LACK OF TIME:

Many wannabe authors have busy lives and don't have a lot of time to devote to writing.  There are certain years -- especially in a parents' lives --where raising kids is more than a full-time job.  But where there is a will, there is a way.

There are ways to steal away an hour or two in any given day.  It does, however, always require some level of planning.  Don't be afraid to plan writing time into your day and give it a higher priority than 'the back burner'.   Even if you are a parent or a caretaker, pursuing your own dreams is important.  It keeps you engaged in life.  It makes you a better parent.  It can even make you a better day worker.  Think of your writing as your own personal mission in life.

PERFECTIONISM:

Perfectionism can be another stumbling block for authors.  Everyone wants to write a masterpiece.  But at some point, you need to also know that nothing in life is perfect.  Don't let your ideas of perfect get all wired into your ideas of excellence.  They are two different things..  If you looked close enough, you could find a few imperfect brush strokes in the Mona Lisa.  If you read Harry Potter enough times, you may catch a plot hole or two.  It's important to know the difference between excellence and perfection.  One is doable and one is not doable by human beings.

FEAR OF REJECTION:

tension in story graphicWill my readers like the book?  Will the book be good enough to get a literary agent?  What happens if my book gets bad reviews?  There are any number of fears of rejection that can cause us to stop writing.  Decide ahead of time you won't allow these fears to stop you.  Like I said earlier, think of your writing as a mission God has given you.   This is your life's work, along with your other worldly responsibilities.  Your writing could be an opportunity to pass on things you have come to learn in your life.  That's a purpose.  Or maybe writing is a way for you to share the gift of storytelling that you know you were born with.  That's a God-given purpose.  Whatever the reason, it's important to not allow fear of rejection to get in the way.



SELF-DOUBT:

Self-doubt is a tool of the devil.  It's easy for any human to start thinking they aren't perfect, so maybe they aren't good enough to pull off writing a novel.  And the reason I call it a tool of the devil is because it can start with just a tiny little insignificant thought of self-doubt.  But it can snowball and get bigger and bigger and bigger.

During these times when I feel self-doubt, I think of my writing as therapeutic for myself.  It's something I'm doing for me, not for anyone else.  Any fear of rejection that occurs, thinking I'm doing it for myself, it takes away any sting self-doubt may have.  It removes any power it has over me.  It turns the tables on this.

DISTRACTIONS:

woman-multitasking-distractionsDistractions are one of the biggest obstacles to completing a novel.  One reason is because life does serve up constant small and big emergencies that have to take first priorities in our lives.  So an emergency distraction can throw a whole well-planned writing schedule up into the air in a heartbeat.

One of the weapons against distractions is get clear on what a real emergency is verses a situation that can take its place in your daily routine.  You don't always have to sacrifice your writing time just because someone else doesn't have to wait or suffer a small inconvenience.  Always ask yourself whether you have the right to protect your free time or whether you are dealing with a true emergency, a situation that requires you to replan in that moment.

Parents with kids can fall into a trap of giving up all their free time based on a constant stream of kid demands.  Giving in to every child whim is not the definition of a good parent.  Protecting your free time and expecting your child to work within your schedule is not bad parenting.  It's the sign of someone who is good at balancing their lives.

I learned a long time ago that I have to protect my free time as there are armies of people in the world who would harness me as a free resource in their lives.  They would demand and expect that I do all the things they don't want to do if I allowed it.  We're responsible to set our own boundaries with people, and that includes kids.

RESEARCH:

too-much-researchMost novels require at least some research.   The internet can be a blessing with research but it can also be a curse.  It's a blessing because the days of having to travel to a public library are over.  It can be a curse because the research can suck you in and you can use up all your valuable writing time doing too much research.

The tip I would pass on to any new writer would be to not do the research until you have already laid down your plotline.  This will avoid research for things that wind up on the editing floor, so to speak.  Subjects or issues you you think may come up in the story may get cut as you firm up a plotline to fit within the space of a novel.  There's nothing more frustrating than looking back and seeing hours and hours of wasted research time.

Too much research can also lead to another problem and that is 'information dumping'.  That means that many authors can't resist the opportunity to write into the story things they learned from their research that are not really relevant to the plotline.  This may be fascinating to us as authors but it's boring to readers if it doesn't move the story line along.

EDITING THE BOOK TO DEATH:

editing-a-novel-to-deathAnother trap to finishing a novel is to get caught up in a never-ending edit of the book.  This usually hooks in with perfectionism problem in some way.

I break up my editing into stages so that each time I go through the book, I focus on only one thing.  For example:  The first edit is to check to make sure I have put my descriptions of locations and people in.  The second time I go through it, I look at sentence structure and make sure the chapters flow without any time gaps.  The third time I pass through, I look for verb tenses.  The next level is looking for the words I like to use too much like okay and just.

By having a solo focus, it prevents you as the author from getting caught in changing everything all at once.  This prevents you from being able to focus on anything.

THE PSYCHOLOGICAL TRAP OF FINISHING THE NOVEL:

finishing-a-novelOnce you complete a novel, there is a little sadness that sets in.  This book is no longer your baby.  It's no longer your little pet project.  Once you hand it off to an editor, it becomes a shared work, so to speak.

Very often, authors who have abandonment issues or fears of depression, they don't like to end anything and that includes writing a book.  When I hear people saying they took seven or ten years to finish a book, I'm astounded at what could have taken them so long.  They kept the book as their little baby for an entire childhood.

My Peek Behind the Novel series is about writing in layers.  I feel that writing in layers is a way filled with techniques that keep me writing, keep me on track, keep me on schedule, and allow me to complete the novel, no matter how much research it requires.

These are just a few of the obstacles that we, as writers, face when undertaking the writing and completion of a novel.  If your goal is to write a novel, don't give up on your dream.  Keep writing, keep pushing yourself, and eventually you will complete your novel.



WRITERS DIARY – Writing a Novel – First Draft Doubts

THERE ARE ALWAYS FIRST DRAFT DOUBTS:

self-doubts-pictureI'm assuming all writers have doubts as they are writing the first draft.  I know I do.  Something happens between the feeling of knowing I have a good plotline and writing out the first draft.

After analyzing it for a while, I believe what happens is that I cannot 'envision' the whole story coming together as I am just blurting out the first half of the first draft.

When writing a first draft, I'm in the nitty gritty now.  It's no longer 'thinking about the plotline'.  I'm now committing it to paper.  A feeling of insecurity arises as I realize that I'm halfway through my scenes and I don't get a feeling of any suspense or mystery.   It has absolutely no personality yet.  It's dry.  The characters are a bit like sticks yet.

THIS IS WHY I START WITH FOUR DIFFERENT PLOTLINES:

Battling against these doubts is one reason I started working on four separate plotlines before choosing the best one.  This way, I know I picked the best of four before I even started.

Then I remind myself that a first draft has no details.   I'm really more or less linking the scenes where the biggest clues are dropped to one another.  In the book I'm writing now, I'm even skipping over most of the subplots until I can get a read on how much "space" I'll have to write them.

What does that mean?  It means that as a newer author, I can't go over 80,000 to 100,000 words.  So I try to create a first draft with about 45,000 to 60,000.  This way, I have room to beef up my subplots, add the descriptions and any theme commentary, etc.

THE DOUBTS ARE MORE ABOUT LACK OF VISION:

The doubts seem to be a combination of an inability to see the final novel and being halfway through the first layer of a first draft.  It's hard not to feel that this story is not "good enough".  It's not good enough.  It's not meant to be good enough.  A good enough story needs 8 or 9 layers of writing.

JUST KEEP WRITING:

just keep writingSo the antidote to self-doubt is to keep writing.  Trust your plotline.  Know too that you can always add clues, rearrange some scenes, add a bit more intrigue into your subplots.  Eight layers of writing leaves a lot of room for beefing up a story, deepening a story and polishing a story.

REMIND MYSELF THAT THIS IS ONLY LAYER 3 OF A 7 TO 8 LAYER PROCESS:

I also remind myself that a first draft just has to be gotten through.  It's the hardest layer to write because you are writing on faith alone really.  You are trusting yourself as a storyteller.

 



Peek Behind the Novel – Writing Scene Outlines

WHERE WE ARE BEGINNING IN THIS BLOG POST:

I left off writing about how I divide the crime skeleton, after adding in the subplots, into the Four-Part Structure.  I am now entering the third layer of writing.  This blog post and video below are about sketching in the plot outlines.

WHERE WE ARE GOING:

Most new writers want to get to the writing already.  But in this layer of writing, all plot holes or inconsistencies will show up.  Any clues that won't work when adding more suspects and motivations will show up in this layer.

So this layer is like an insurance policy that you won't be writing for the trash can.

USING THE SHORT TEMPLATE:

My template is short but it keeps me on track.  I'll break it down below.  This small template I use keeps my writing on point and tight.  It prevents me from meandering, dawdling, going off on an irrelevant tangent or writing myself into a corner.

POINT OF VIEW

n order to prevent head-hopping, which is very common among new writers, you need to be constantly reminded that each scene is in one perspective.  Some writers write in first person and that's easy.

However, I write in third person - one persons perspective.  This prevents the reader hopping from head to head.  It's too confusing for a reader to do that.

However, I don't choose my point of view this early on in the process.  I wait until I am actually writing the scene before I choose.  In my experience, as you write the scene, the first draft, one character will sort of 'claim the scene as their own'.  That's when I choose the point of view and then make sure the entire scene is in that persons perspective.

Now, I must confess, since I write in third person narrator style, I do allow myself one tiny head-hop at the end of a scene if I think it serves the plot well.  I think any reader can handle one tiny head hop.

I'm a self-published author at this time, and one of the benefits of self-publishing is you can do what you want.  The professional publishers may be horrified by allowing one head hop at the end of a scene, but as a self-publisher, I can do what I want.  (Hee hee)

KEEPING TRACK OF TIME

I don't know whether I am an author who is obsessed with time, or whether I use time as an element to put pressure to solve on my characters, but I have always tracked time.  I find this helps me balance the story and make the story more realistic.

What I mean by that is often times there is so much that is happening in a book on one particular day, that it becomes unrealistic that all of this could happen in one day.  Maybe it's just me.

Keeping track of time allows me to also know when the workday is over and the subplots can enter the scene as most subplots happen at least in part in a character's off time.

CHOOSING A SCENE LOCATION:

Location is important for two reasons.  One reason is casts the scene in cement.  You have chosen a stage for the scene to take place.  I don't write any scene or location descriptions in this layer of writing.  But I can write the action of the scene in context of a location.

Secondly, adding the location in this layer allow me to go off and find photographs that I can use in the layers down the road where I will add descriptions into the story.

PURPOSE - MOVING THE STORY ALONG

Every experienced author who I listened to when I was first writing fiction said the same thing:  Everything in the manuscript is there to move the story along.  If it doesn't move the story, it doesn't belong there.    So this Purpose in my template helps me keep my writing tight and on point.



CLUES - KEEP TRACK OF CLUES

vector magnifying glass

This one is self-evident.  A crime novel, murder mystery or police procedural is about solving a crime or mystery.  So uncovering clues, following them to the next clue is the vehicle for the story.  So it's important to keep track of clues.

In the first stage of writing, it's easy to remember if you put clues into the story.  In the first draft, it's easy to rely on your memory.  But after you've read through the story a bit and begin to add more to it, you won't be able to remember whether you saw that clue in the last chapter or the last time you read through the entire layer.

So it's important to keep track of clues.

DIVIDING AND CONQUERING THE MANUSCRIPT:

By dividing the story into four parts, and then writing scene outlines, you can divide a huge manuscript down into bite-size pieces.  It is less overwhelming and easier to organize, write and keep track of.

HOW SCENE OUTLINING WORKS IN SCRIVENER:

You can watch the video below for a full explanation, but each scene begins with the template.  I leave the POV blank for now.  I choose the time and location.  And then under Purpose/Clues, I add everything I want to happen in this scene.  I am thinking about the main plot, the dripping of background info, the dripping of clues, and the subplots.

I use numbers but using bullet points would probably be best as I have to change the numbers a lot.  Although when I show you the rest of my technique, you will see that the number themselves don't matter.

ABOUT THE VIDEO:

In this video, I talk about and lay out how to use a simple template and write the individual scene outlines. By sketching in the individual novel scenes, I can be sure that the clues and mystery scenarios will all work before I waste any time writing any scenes. I go into my strategy and work flow in this video and the benefits of outlining the scenes first. Once you have a scene outline, the actual writing of the scenes becomes only creative and fun.

Time Stamps of this video:
00:01 - Laying out the plotline into scenes
00:58 - The benefits of writing scene outlines
02:46 - The scene template
03:03 - Summary of the process up to this point. Showing a scrolling outline.
04:22 - The template in action - an example of how the template works 04:45 - Point of View
05:26 - Keeping track of time in the manuscript
06:26 - The importance of Locations
07:10 - Purpose - Moving the story along
08:20 - Keeping track of clues
09:20 - Dividing and conquering the manuscript
10:05 - Live in Scrivener with present novel - How the scene outlines work. 11:45 - Sneak Peek of the Synopsis
12:05 - Looking at Scrivener Binders a new one vs. a fully written book
13:13 - Knowing the story through the outline



A Peek Behind the Novel Series – Writing in Layers – Chronology of a Crime

WHERE WE LEFT OFF:

In the first installment of the Peek Behind the Novel Series, I wrote about working four different plotlines before choosing one.  By working on four of them, it helps me 'improve' on some storylines and when I have four to choose from, I am able to go into the project knowing that I have chosen the best one.  It's a technique that I use to build my author confidence.

THE FIRST LAYER OF WRITING A NOVEL - THE CHRONOLOGY OF A CRIME

In the first layer of writing, I focus only on the crime or mystery.  I make a list of the chronology of the crime.  How it happens, who it happens to, how the detectives are assigned to the case.  I focus only on the crime.  I don't think of subplots, or dialogue or even the outcome.  Only on the crime itself, almost like a Forensic Files show.

This layer of writing is only a chronological list of the crime or mystery and how it plays out.  Mine looks like a list with small paragraphs and one line clues.  It could even look like a printout from Google maps!

DIVIDE AND CONQUER:

Once I have the chronology of the crime, I begin to break the chronology into four parts.  Nothing fancy; just Parts 1, 2, 3 and 4.  By breaking the crime up into four sections, I'm preparing it to be plugged into the 'four-act play' format.  I never took to the three-act play because the center section is too unstructured and it's twice as long as the other sections.  It's called one part, but it's really two parts in one.  It was too asymmetrical for me.   So rather than using a three act structure, I break Act 2 into two separate parts.

PART 1 - Introduction to the Detectives and Normal Life:

In Part 1, the detectives hear about the crime or mystery and are somehow assigned to it.  That assignment is different in each case.  I start in their normal working lives and have them pulled into the crime.

This part also entails the scene of the crime and whatever clues may or may not be present.  One or maybe two suspects will arise at the scene or shortly thereafter.



Part 1 - The Inciting Incident:

In a police procedural, being assigned to the case is the inciting incident.  They are called into this crime investigation whether they want to be or not.  Part 1 will end with the inciting incident.  They have seen the scene of the crime and have gathered their first clue or clues.  They are now off on a quest to solve the crime.

Part 2 - The Investigation Begins:

murder-in-the-sanctuary-book-coverThe Jack Nolan Detective Series is about two detectives, Jack and Fiona, who have personal lives that are also in flux.  Part 2 introduces the subplots about the detectives and the early investigations they go off on.

The facts as well as clues begin to trickle into the storyline so that the reader can start trying to10 guess who committed the mystery or crime.

The end of Part 2 is the midpoint of the story, so I try to have a twist or a revelation that changes the direction of the investigation in some way.

Part 3 - The Truth Begins to Seep Out:

Early in Part 3, the last suspect will appear and the detectives will be trying to figure out who has the greater motivation.  Or which of the suspects had the time and opportunity to commit the crime.  Also in part 3, the masks on the suspects begin to fall and their secrets are exposed and a couple even are caught in a lie or two.

The end of Part 3 is the equivalent of a Dark Night of the Soul.  This is a place where maybe the detectives can't figure out who did it, or they know but can't find proof, or there is a chance the bag guy or girl will get away with it for one reason or another.  It is a low point.  This could also coincide with a low point in one of the detective's personal lives.

Part 3 ends on this darker moment.  I want the reader to be worried that the detectives won't solve it in time, or the bad guy will get away with something.

PART 4 - The Big Reveal

The beginning of Part 4 is the big reveal.  There is one clue or one revelation that confirms the guilt of whatever the real bad guy is.  This sets up a situation where the bad guy is going to get away, or the detectives have to trap him or her -- however you choose to 'solve' the case.

The second part of Part 4 is where I as the author, very quickly, wrap up the whole crime.  I like to do this in case my readers are reading with one eye open.  People are busy today and often they may miss something.  So I like to spell it out very quickly -- because I don't want to bore the readers who were paying attention -- how the crime occurred and how the evidence was there all along.

Next you wrap up the subplots and resolve and reveal anything that is hanging in the air, like the red herring, or how other suspects couldn't have done it.  You also want to wrap up the subplots on a satisfying note.

IF YOU ARE WRITING A SERIES:

My series are four or more books, so the personal lives are written a bit like a soap opera.  The characters do have a full character arc in each novel.  They learn something in that book that I reflect on in the end, but I also drop a clue at the end of the mystery/crime that the story will continue in the next book.

I DON'T WANT TO GET AHEAD OF MYSELF:

I've just given you a bird's eye view of how the book will proceed when marrying all four parts of it together.  But this first layer is only the chronology of the crime.

I also end this layer with a section I call "How it will end".  It never ends the way I think it will, but committing to an end this early at least gives me a direction and a destination.  It's easy enough to change the chronology when the story takes a natural turn or changes within the creative process.



Author’s Diary – Sneak Peek behind the Novel – Scene Template

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A SCENE TEMPLATE?

An Example of a starting template in Darius - A Vampire Story

I learned most of what I know about writing and self-publishing from several authors who graciously shared their knowledge on YouTube and on their blogs.  I'm not an expert in writing novels by any means.  I'm beginning my 11th novel, so I can say I managed to write 10 novels and get their published on KDP!

I consider myself a plotter, but I have a system that allows for a lot of creative stretching even within a pretty rigid system.  I consider my writing template to be only guardrails.   The main purpose of these guardrails is to stay on point, stay on the story, and prevent me from wandering off into some dead end or corner that I can't write my way out of.  This system does help me stay focused.



Power-of-templates-bar

THE TEMPLATE IS SIMPLE:

POV:
TIME/LOCATION:
PURPOSE/CLUES:

Each scene starts with these three lines.  I have a sample of a starting scene template from one of my vampire books, Darius, A Vampire Story.  It's permafree on Amazon and Kobo.

In the example above, I default to using numbers, but in all honesty, I wind up adding things and swapping positions on thing, so you may want to use bullet points instead.

Below I have a made-up version of a scene using bullet points.

    •  The main characters, John and Mary,  meet & begin a conversation about work or a shared interest.
    • They hear a loud gunshot.  Mary is startled and John reaches out to comfort her.
    • I continue on listing in a bit of detail everything that needs to happen in the scene.  I don't get into any conversation, or any detail.  Just a plot point, so to speak.  This list is more of a to do list that I can keep in my mind when I'm writing, and it then becomes a checklist to make sure I put everything in the scene that I need to.
    • All things must have a purpose in the scene.  (More on this below)
    • In the beginning, you may also choose to highlight the dropping of any and all clues.

POINT OF VIEW:

The Battle for Point of View

When I begin to write the scene, I don't know whose point of view the scene will be in.  I don't pick a point of view.  I allow myself to write within the framework of the guardrails listed above until the scene comes to life.  During this time, one character claims the scene.  This allows me great creative freedom even within the framework of these guardrails.

Once I determine whose seen it is, then I can make sure that the scene is all in that person's point of view.  This is easy enough to do in the second level of writing.

DAY | TIME | TIMING:

In writing mystery romances and police procedurals, it's important to keep track of time for a few reasons.  One reason is that it's too easy to get lost in the writing and forget the time line.  It may be morning in one scene and in the next scene you're referring to something happening at 4PM.  Problems like these are very tedious to clean up after you're done writing.  It's easier easier to track the timing while you create the scene, while you write.

Another reason to track time is to make sure that a reasonable amount of action takes place in a day.  Very often, the subplot action takes place at night or afterhours, so knowing when a workday begins and ends and when personal time or evening begins is important.

Another reason is in police procedurals, they need judges to sign warrants and that's an issue of timing.  The witnesses work jobs and police tend to do things during the day.  They also tend to work long shifts and have case loads, etc.  I use the timing to keep things real, I guess you could say.



LOCATION:

I add the location of each scene to make sure that this is also taken into account.  If they are one hour away from home or two hours away from the police department, then I have to remember that -- because if I don't, some sharp reader will!

I also log the location so that when I come back to my second and third layers -- I write in layers -- I can add details about the location into the scene.

PURPOSE:

I talked about this above, how important it is to only write into the scene things that move the drama, character arcs or the story itself forward.  This is the most important guardrail.  I take this instruction or advice literally and I make sure that everything in the scene has a purpose and/or reason to be there.

Very often the purpose is to drop clues, throw in a red herring, or move the subplots along.  But every scene has at least one specific purpose.

Clues:

In writing mysteries, these are your breadcrumbs that will be dropped one by one during the story.  By keeping track of the clues and where they are dropped, you can also look later on and make sure that you are disbursing them along the way at a nice pace.  You don't want to dump four clues in one scene and then follow it with two boring chapters with nothing going on.

LAYERS:

I mentioned writing in layers above.  This is a secondary technique that I will blog about as I move along in my present book.  I'll also give you a sneak peek behind the novel to see what levels I write in.

I'll just say that writing the initial scenes is the first level of writing.  I write the outlines and then begin to write the scene.  I NEVER LOOK BACK!  That means I don't correct verb tense.  I don't worry about typos.  I don't worry about polishing anything.  It's all raw and it's supposed to be raw.  Just get the story out on paper.

I don't exert one ounce of energy proofreading or polishing until I know I have an actual manuscript.  At the end of this first layer, I won't have a manuscript.  I'll have a good, strong skeleton of a story, but it won't be a manuscript -- or anything close to one.  But having a good strong skeleton is important.

I hope this helps someone new!



Author’s Tips – Plotting with Freemind

ALL AUTHORS NEED A PLOTLINE:

Each new book requires a new plotline.  I used to come up with a plotline and go with it.  But I noticed I had a lot of insecurities as to whether it was good enough or whether I was choosing a plotline too soon.

By the third book, I started to write four potential plotlines from the beginning.  Each one was good enough.  They all had a crime or a mystery, they had suspense and even a satisfying or surprise ending.  By writing four plotlines, at some point, the one plotline that I "should be writing" clings to me and I to it.  I know instinctively that 'this is the one'.

HOW TO QUIET WRITING INSECURITIES:

When I had only the one plotline, I still had an insecurity as I began to write.  What I found with starting with four is that I know I worked on all four and I know I'm writing the best one I came up with.  I feel like the plotline I chose wants to be written.  The characters are already coming alive before I even finish the plotline.

It's more work to start with four plotlines, but the satisfaction of knowing I'm writing the right book, and being able to let go of any self-doubt and insecurity, it's well worth it.

THE TECHNIQUE OF OUR PLOTS WORKED, BUT I GOT SCATTERED!

So I could tell the four plotlines was a working strategy going forward.  The first time I did this, I opened a new Notepad document, plotted a crime and a potential storyline.   When I finished, I named it the first potential plotline and filed it.  Rinse and repeat.  Sounds pretty straight forward, right?

Well, after I chose the one potential storyline, I went on to write the book.  The technique worked but, as usual, I got scattered pretty soon thereafter.  What do I mean?  I mean I couldn't remember where I filed each plotline.  Did I put it into my blogging folder?  Was it in the last book folder?  Was it filed as a general document in my website folder?  I couldn't find them no matter what.

I don't know if everyone is like this, but as soon as I have more than three pages of anything, I start going upside down if I don't have a "system" to keep myself organized.



ALL IN ONE DOCUMENT?

Then in response to getting scattered, I just wrote all four plotlines in one document, but then I was overwhelmed by how long the document was and it wasn't easy to see which plotline I was in.  The Notepad has a tendency to return to the top when you flip out of it to check a spelling or anything.  Ugh, I again went upside down.

FREEMIND - The solution:

Then I found Freemind.  Of course I saw it on YouTube, where I learn all of my author tricks and tips.  Freemind allows me to keep all four plotlines on the same 'board'.  BUT I can close each one and it is very easy to determine which plotline I'm on.  This is also a way where I can scan over all past plotlines to get ideas when it's time for the next book.

This was a game changer for me, which is why I pass this on to other new authors -- or just authors who go upside down like I do!

I made a very short video on YouTube showing how this works.  Most of the FreeMind is intuitive and self-explanation when you begin to use it, but it's always helpful to just see it in action.



Writer’s Diary – Creative Energy vs. Mundane Chore Energy

What's the Difference between these different types of Energy?

Since I began writing full time, I've noticed a difference between the type of energy writing fiction takes.  Because I'm using creative energy, there's risk involved.  It requires me to make decisions and choose to go down one avenue of story and not another.  There's always a possibility that I may wind up in a dead-end or wish I had chosen another route.  No one likes disappointment, especially the type where you look back and see hours and hours of wasted writing time!

When I write, I need fresh energy, a feeling of having a full well of creative spark, almost an excitement.  I even feel more self-trusting when I'm in this state.  I'm committed to allowing myself to create.  This happens for me right after sleep.  That means the mornings -- or after a nap in the late afternoon.

If I've had a sleepless night, or have been running from pillar to post for three days in a row, I'm creatively useless.  If I try to force myself to write in this state, I never produce my best work.  I also can't write if I'm exhausted, or feeling ill, if I feel despondent about the state of the world right now, or if I'm scattered because of too many things going on at once.  Can anyone else relate?

How Does This Affect Writing a Novel?

Over time, I have come to accept this in myself.  I allow the type of energy I have dictate whether I do creative work or mundane chores.  I can do mundane house chores while half sleeping.  I can clean when feeling ill.  I can do laundry and even cooking if I'm not feeling that great.  And I do.

Once I know I'm kind of creatively useless, I shift into mundane-chore mode.  This is the time I do all my mundane chores.  But I've also found that there are even mundane chores in the production of a book, especially if you are a self-publisher.  For example:  I won't even try to design a book cover, but I can collect inspirational photos into a folder so I have them ready the next morning when I'm refreshed and have more of a creative flow.

Other mundane chores involved in the Self-Publishing world are:

  • Research in writing, publishing, social media marketing, KDP ads, etc.
  • Education - Watching videos on subjects that you need to know as a self-publisher.  This is a great way to harness mundane energy and make it work for you.
  • Checking through drafts to make sure you have start-and-end quote marks.  This is definitely a mundane chore, but has to be done!
  • Listening to your work:  Microsoft Word has a "read aloud" feature so when you're too tired to write, you can listen to your chapters being read back to you.  This is a great way to find those errors in your writing that you can too easily gloss over when you're the author.

Wrestling with the Force of Energy Never Works For Me:

female hands writing on laptot, close up

I see YouTube videos and blog articles by authors who set out very strict writing time schedules for themselves.  They don't seem to have trouble following these tight and rigid schedules.  I can't operate within that system.  I gave up wrestling with my energy a while ago.  But I believe I have found a way to make this work for me, not against me.  I see my new techniques as respecting my limitations and also harnessing my different energies to work for the same goal.

Learn to Harness The Different Types of Energy:

It all begins in analyzing your own energy levels, and how they play out in your own life.  Maybe you have a baby that takes all of your energy during the day.  Your time to be creative may be at night.  But maybe you can take advantage of his/her nap time to do some of the DIY Publishing mundane chores or research or education.

Once you get a read on how your own energy ebbs and flows, you can more effectively plan on how to shift between these states and harness them both to work for the same goals.

I hope this article helps, especially those just beginning their writing journey.

 

 



Scrivener Tip – Long and Short Lists of Keyboard Shortcuts

Long List of Scrivener Keyboard Shortcuts:

I made the four-page list of Scrivener shortcuts into a gif to give you an idea of how many keyboard shortcuts there are.  Why make lists of them?  These came in handy for me because until I made my own theme in Scrivener, I had to strain to see a lot.  The default coloring of Scrivener is so white and bright that it made seeing the gray fonts very hard -- at least on my aging eyes!

We each have our own methods of doing things, and only a few of these shortcuts may become your favorites.  But it will come in handy as you get more and more productive as a writer.  Which will happen.  The one thing Scrivener does is streamline writing and allow you to power focus on your project.

Below is a moving gif to give you an idea of what the list looks like.  I got this information from a website called How to Scrivener.  I don't have to tell you this is only one of the many resources he has for Scrivener users.

 

HOW TO USE THE SCRIVENER LIST:

I simply copied and pasted them into a Word document and printed it out.  I keep it on my right hand side and one by one, I just chose a new shortcut to focus on that session.  Little by little, they became natural.  I no longer need to refer to the list anymore.

PASSING IT ON:

I'm passing this on to new authors as so many other authors passed on their tips and tricks to me.  I hope this helps someone.

In case you don't want to copy and past your own document, you can click below to print out my copy.  Be sure to visit How to Scrivener to see all of the various resources he/she has for Scrivener users.

DOWNLOAD KEYBOARD SHORTCUT LIST

 



WRITERS DIARY – Did I Send Draft Manuscript to the Editor Too Early?

FOLLOWING MY SYSTEM OF FIVE TO SIX REVIEWS BEFORE SENDING:

I am a diligent plotter and planner when I write.  Starting in Scrivener, I construct the story and go over it from six or seven different angles before I even compile it to be worked on, massaged and proofread in Microsoft Word.

So after this process, the book never feels rushed to me.  The last ten to twenty tweaks give me the feeling that I have finished.

IT FELT DONE - BUT WAS IT?

During the writing of my last book, Murder at the Car Wash, I had the same feeling -- that the book was done and ready to go to the editor.

I had checked it constantly to make sure there was enough background information for the book to be read alone, even though it was written as part of the Jack Nolan Detective Series.  I went over the plotline, the sub-plotlines, the balance of the story -- everything, like I always do.

BUT MY MIND IS STILL PERCOLATING

However, once the book was gone to the editor, within a few days, I seemed to have a second wind of creative energy and had more ideas of deepening the intrigue or mystery 'popping' into my head.

I know when the book comes back that I will be adding to it with these ideas that have come to me over the month the book is being edited.

Looking back, I remember the same thing happened with my first few novels.  I didn't notice it like I did this time.  Luckily, with self-publishing, you can fix something or even add something and then re-upload it!  These are the gifts of self-publishing.

WAITING 2 TO 3 WEEKS TO GIVE IT TO THE EDITOR NEXT TIME!

Thinking about this in terms of the future, I will add this 2 to 3 weeks period of allowing the book to rest unattended to see what else pops up when my mind turns to other things.  I write fast enough where this will not create a problem.

I have a list of things I check in the novels to make sure I cover everything.  I will add this "process" of waiting a few weeks to let my mind get busy with other things and then see what else my creative mind throws up as it is still percolating with the storyline.

Although this is my 1th book, I still consider myself a new author and am still learning my way through all this.

Has this ever happened to you?