Update on both novels

With the term winding down, I can finally get back to writing. And with that said, I have an announcement to make. I am halfway through adding a new chapter/scene to my first book and it's one of many. Likewise, I'm almost at the half-way mark for book two.

Book one is currently at 35,570 words, while book two is currently at 23,610 words. That puts Shadows of Calassa at 143+ pages and The Human Trap at 98+ pages.

I did participate in NaNoWriMo but that went downhill quickly with term projects piling up at my side as I attempted this writing behemoth. Now, maybe next year, I'll just reserve my writing time for when I'm at home such as the weekends or school nights when I have no homework.

A suggestion to new and old writers: join a critique group if you're just coming out of NaNoWriMo. The story you slaved away on may have potential and sharing it with a group of trusted colleagues is the positive thing to do. Granted, I cheated and worked on both books at once, but there's no rule that says it has to be a completely new book you must start during November, just that you try and attain the goals of writing 150,000 words during the month.

Remember: as much as you care about your story and love what you've written, don't be afraid to let words go, or scenes, or characters. Sometimes that can strengthen a story more than it will harm. If it doesn't work without that scene, then try getting advice as to what specifically isn't working there and determine if it can be salvaged or integrated into the novel proper.

Writing Challenges

Setting aside the entirety of NaNoWriMo and writer's block, there are a few ways to get the creative juices flowing. For instance, if you're just not feeling the urge to sit down and write, try reading a book that's not in the genre you're writing in.

Here are just a few things to do to get the juices flowing:

• Try taking the first or last sentence of a novel you've read and write a scene using your characters. What would they do? How would they act?*
• Take a game you've just completed (be it board, card, x-box, or console) and try to write those characters and their situations.*
• Try writing an essay that summarizes the events of your world. It can prove fun and get the creative side warmed up.

This is my challenge to you all. If you feel the creative need to write but can't put thought to paper or screen, then relax and still write. you never know when an idea will spark.

* Note: I'm not saying this has to be published or even revealed or shared. A friend of mine challenged me to do so and I've done it but kept them to myself. Don't want the lawyers coming after me.

Flashbacks/Backstory

Flashback or backstory is commonly used to describe the events of a point before the start of the book. In a way, a writer can establish some history of the main character or secondary characters through the use of backstory. It also provides some uses for the author to tell about a time that might be hard to articulate.

There is a limit to backstory. The three sentence/paragraph rule. In this, you want to weave your backstory through the main event happening in the scene.

For example: Jack poured the coffee, the smell taking him back to the early mornings when his mother used to make it. He sat down to drink.

But is this always the best way to do a flashback? New York Times best selling author Karen Traviss gives whole chapters to backstory in her Gears of War book series. Those chapters serve to show the readers that some events in the present mirror those in the past. This is also a helpful way to practice the  "Show, Don't Tell" rule of writing.

But doing the backstory this way might cause some writers to tell/show that story more than the main event, which then makes them wonder if the backstory is more interesting than the main story. All too often, the past is more interesting than the present, but there are ways to work around that.

• If you have a secondary character with ore interesting backstory than your main character, try giving subtle hints about his or her past. Such as the case with Marvel's X-Men character, Wolverine. Sure, we know of some of the events that made him what he is today, but the rest he either doesn't talk about or gives an offhand comment to.
• Try writing the backstory alongside your main story. In a separate document is always wise. This allows you to have the backstory at your fingertips and choose what elements get referenced or summarized in paragraph/sentence form.
• Change your story's character and setting. All too often, the secondary characters steal the show for new writers. The challenge is to tell them "No." If you feel the story would be more interesting through their eyes, show it.