NaNo inspiration: covers

18 November 2011 Jordan 7 Comments

This entry is part 8 of 16 in the series NaNoWriMo success and inspiration

Once upon a time, I was anti-mock covers. I thought it was a little weird to put up a fake book cover on your site for a book you’re drafting or trying to sell. Then I wrote up my projects page, and it looked . . . bare. So I made up some passable mock covers (some obviously more time consuming than others).

Usually, I’ve waited until I was done or nearly so to make these. But since October was a “planning” month for NaNo, and I was only doing 50,000 other things, I spent a day making the “ideal” version of the cover:

Not 100% perfect (or, you know, licensed), but pretty dang good. Just looking at it gets me excited to write!

Obviously you don’t want to take off a day in the middle of NaNo to play around with a graphics program to make a cover no one else might ever see—but in about 20 minutes, you can throw together something that can inspire you.

Seriously, I tried it. I used a picture I pinned of one character, and Googled screencaps from a movie the other character was in (screencaps found here). Then I turned to Flickr for pictures of a rune stone (by Paul W. Locke). Some Magic Wand tool, cut/paste, resize, color balance, and add text, and voila! I put together a crude version of the above.

Inspiration in twenty minutes? That’s a bargain.

How do you find inspiration quickly?

Photo credits: Maggie Lawson by unknown (via listal), Garrett Hedlund from TRON: Legacy (found here), Viking coin by Ancient Art, Kensington runestone monument by Paul W. Locke

Technique

NaNo inspiration: music

16 November 2011 Jordan 2 Comments

This entry is part 7 of 16 in the series NaNoWriMo success and inspiration

Images are one great way to recapture some of the initial inspiration behind your story, and music is another. It does more than just soothe the savage beast! (Which is a misquote anyway.)

Music is a great way to get yourself in the mood to write a specific scene. I know, I know, that sounds like I mean you should be listening to “Let’s Get It On” when you’re writing love scenes. That’s not quite what I mean (but if that works for you, great)—or, rather, it’s not just what I mean. There are songs about other things, you know. Sort of.

For a long time, my favorite music for just about anything was classical. Still, when I need to be creative on demand, I’ll pop in my James Galway (flute) album (Serenade). This is a big help still because I often have trouble writing to music with words without singing along. Okay, I have trouble grocery shopping to music with words without singing along. Audibly. (I’m just lucky my kids aren’t old enough to be embarrassed. Tired of listening, yes. Embarrassed, not yet.)

But sometimes, I have a perfect popular song or soundtrack I listen to on repeat while writing. I wrote a novel with a bunch of oblique references in the text to current songs—but it was set in 1974. So I listened to those songs on repeat. In another novel, I wrote a car chase chapter listening to “Life in the Fast Lane” on repeat. (No endorsement for the content or even musical quality. I just like it.) A song with a driving beat is a great for a high-tension scene—or for a high-tension writer.

Need music without words? I hear you, and I’ve found something that I love: movie soundtracks. Think of a movie in your genre that you like, and pull up the soundtrack for it. The various songs are already designed to be the backdrop to the different types of scenes you might be writing.

You might already have a good site for listening to music, or maybe you actually spring for your tracks on iTunes or Amazon, but if not, I’ve found Grooveshark is pretty nice for individual songs and playlists. I’m still devoted to Pandora for building a radio station around a song or two (yes even with the ads).

So what’s in my playlist this time around? “Immigrant Song” by Led Zeppelin and the soundtrack to Indiana Jones. Also, Queen. They have nothing to do with my story. I just like them. I’ve really shattered your illusions of me now, haven’t I? John Williams, Eagles, Zeppelin and Queen, and yes, I’m under 30. You just don’t know what to make of me, do you?

What songs do you write to?

Photo by Colleen Lane and unknown

Technique

NaNo “Pinspiration”

14 November 2011 Jordan 2 Comments

This entry is part 6 of 16 in the series NaNoWriMo success and inspiration

It’s week three (almostish). Tomorrow the halfway point, and you might be starting to lose steam. This week, we’re looking at things we can do in about 20 minutes to help remind us why we started this story, and fall in love with it all over again.

One recommendation I’ve seen several places is to make yourself a collage of images that speak to you about this book. Several people say that you can look at these collages for inspiration when you find your writing lagging. I love seeing these collage posts on friends’ blogs, but today I’m talking about a different way to do this.

Have you heard of Pinterest? It’s a website where you can virtually “pin” (save) any image or video that inspires you. It also shares these pins with your friends and displays them all organized into separate “boards.” It’s pretty fun. I use it a lot for my craft blog, but every once in a while, I use it for writing.

Now, my friends’ collages are a little more abstract, it seems, but this is my interpretation: some images of character inspirations and major plot elements (okay, and at least one character quirk) in my WIP:

(I edited out the pictures from my last couple projects, but the pins are still in there if you follow the link.)

You need an invite to sign up, but if you’d like one, just contact me and I’ll pass one along. (I think you also need either a Twitter account or a Facebook account to register at Pinterest.)

How do you make collages for your WIPs? Or do you?

Technique

Nano: Moving forward

11 November 2011 Jordan 1 Comment

This entry is part 5 of 16 in the series NaNoWriMo success and inspiration

I’m at a point in my novel where I know on a high level what I want to come next (characters D & K turn to O for help, character X will actually turn out to be good, etc.), but I have no idea to get from where I am to there.

As I was preparing for this series, I saw a great post on tips for marathon writing by Kaye Dacus. I just might have to put one of her tips to use today:

. Write Something . . . Anything

When you sit down for that scheduled writing time and you stare at that flashing cursor waiting for the words to come, and they don’t, DO NOT walk away from it and give yourself the excuse that you’ll just double-up on words tomorrow. Why do you think I’ve ended up writing the bulk of two of the last three novels I’ve finished in two weeks or less?

When I was writing what would become my first completed manuscript a little less than ten years ago, I got to a point at which (being a seat of the pants writer with no synopsis, only a vague story idea) I had no idea where my story was going. But I wanted to write. I needed to write. So since I’d just gone to the grocery store that evening after work, I wrote one of my characters doing the same thing. I had him get his basket. I had him pick out produce. I got him through the store all the way to the frozen-food section—where, surprisingly, he ran into another character; and, all of a sudden, I had a scene that moved the story forward again.

It sounds mundane and like bad writing (and it’s probably something you’d end up cutting most of in a revision), but not only are you working at that creative pump, you can also learn more about your character by doing something like that.

(Kaye has more great tips in her post!)

What do you think? What do you do to “prime the pump”?

Photo by Polycart

Technique

NaNo fuel: actual food!

9 November 2011 Jordan 3 Comments

This entry is part 4 of 16 in the series NaNoWriMo success and inspiration

Food. I like it. I like making it. I like eating it. Jami Gold made me think of this when she asked, “What Food Fuels Your Writing?” And when I’m writing, food can play two very important roles: fuel and incentive.

Yes, incentive. I’m not talking about fasting until you hit your word count. No, two words for you:

Incentive. Chocolate.

I so want to do this, but I don’t know if I have the self-control. But the idea is that for every X number of words/pages/scenes/chapters you rack up, you get an incentive, like a piece of chocolate.

But there’s more to a balanced diet than chocolate. There’s chocolate with peanut butter, chocolate with caramel, chocolate with cookies, chocolate with . . . What? Oh, other foods?

When you’re trying to write as fast as possible, one thing that also helps your life not fall apart: healthy snacks. I’m trying not to gain the “NaNo Nine”—and also not starve my children—so I’m planning to stock up on quick and easy snacks (for me and the kids!). Also, if I don’t have readily-accessible food around, I’m liable not to eat altogether, so emphasis on the quick and easy:

Baby carrots (with hummus!)
Celery sticks—prepare them in advance—with peanut butter
Apple slices with peanut butter or cheese
Grapes
Cheese sticks
Pretzels sticks and crackers (with hummus, peanut butter, cheese—you get the picture)
Popcorn (especially air-pop)

That’s just a start, of course, but those are some of my favorites! Preparing them in advance is one of my tricks to keeping my family—and my health—from falling apart while I’m writing like crazy.

I also planned a month of meals in advance that are fast and easy to make that we like—like leftovers I squirreled away in the freezer this year that I never got around to using. Add in breakfast cereal and peanut butter sandwiches, and we’re all set. (Plus twice weekly mini grocery store runs for milk, produce and bread give me guaranteed face time with the kids!)

What fuels—or rewards—your writing? Did you do anything to prepare food-wise for NaNo?

Photo by Brent Miller

Publishing, News & Contests

The big news!

7 November 2011 Jordan 30 Comments

Sorry to interrupt your Nanoing. Hope it’s going well! Just a little news to share here:

My first novel, Saints and Spies, will be published by [Redacted] in 2013!!!

The book is about an LDS (Mormon) FBI agent who has to go undercover as a Catholic priest to root out the mob in the parish. Falling for the parish secretary? That’s just the beginning of his problems.

I got the email Friday morning while working away at a writers’ retreat (where I pounded out 27,000 words on a new novel that I’m very excited about, too!). It was fantastic to share that with other writers face to face, especially when those writers are some really good friends.

The burning questions
To clarify, no one has actually asked these things; I’m being snarky to myself.

What’s your advance?
Let me introduce you to the concept of economies of scale if you’re not already familiar with it. I’m being published by a regional publisher, which means smaller print runs, which means higher cost per unit. This, in turn, means that there’s a bigger risk assumed by the publisher in printing the books, and a system which just doesn’t lend itself well to the advance-against-royalties model.

Or, the short answer: in this market, they’re almost exclusively on a royalties-only basis.

Why did you settle for a regional publisher?
First of all, that’s a super-rude way to phrase the question. I actually didn’t settle; this was one of my dream publishers. The book itself has a lot of LDS (Mormon) content because the main character is LDS. I knew I wanted to find this book a home with a regional LDS publisher—and I’m thrilled it did!

Edited to add: as my friend and publisher-buddy Annette Lyon pointed out in the comments, this company is also the top publisher of fiction in the market. It’s a pretty big deal (even if you haven’t heard of them).

Does this mean you’re Mormon?
Yep. Have been all along. You’re just now noticing? Hm.

So, what now?
My book was accepted based on the manuscript and a plan for proposed revisions to be extra extra careful about the interfaith issues. I’ll make those revisions and anything else I need to, and turn it in again. In the mean time, over at my publisher (I just love typing that!), they’ll assign me to an editor. That editor will look over my revised manuscript and make content suggestions on characters, plot lines, scenes, etc. I’ll take those to make the book better. Once we’re satisfied, the book goes to a copy editor who proofreads it. Once we get it thoroughly clean, it’s ready for all the technical stuff: typesetting, . . . um . . . well, I know there’s printing involved.

Somewhere in there I’ll receive, review and sign a contract. And a cover design. And also do some marketing planning and the like.

And when did you say?
They’re still figuring out exactly when, but it should be sometime in 2013.

But that’s so far away!
Yes, but this is the speed publishing moves. Also, in less than two months, I’ll be able to say, “My book will be out next year.”

So, are you excited?
Yes! Absolutely! And I got this news surrounded by some of my closest writer friends, many of whom have directly and indirectly helped me grow as a writer, who were then able to celebrate my success along with me. And also comment on how badly I was shaking. And ask me to do a cartwheel. (I did.)

Can I read it?
Oh yes! But I probably won’t be giving out a whole lot of free copies. Sorry, but I’m sure I’ll only receive a limited number anyway.

No, I meant, can I read it now?
I do have an excerpt of the first chapter of Saints and Spies in its current form available here on my website.

Well, awesome! But . . . I’m kind of running out of questions . . . Uh, how his Nano going?
Fantastic! With the retreat, I’m up to nearly 40,000 words in my novel, and it’s so much fun! It’s not going exactly how I planned–I really thought a certain event would be the first plot point, but then when I got there, a new first plot point came in, and now I’m just about at the midpoint and I’m still working up to that certain event.

Ah well, writing is revision, isn’t it?

If you say so. Where will I be able to buy your book?
LDS bookstores including Seagull Book and Deseret Book will carry it, as well as independent LDS bookstores. It might also be in Utah Barnes & Nobles and other bookstores. And of course, there’s always Amazon and Kindle.

Will non-Mormons be able to “get” your book?
Oh yes. The Internet is a wonderful thing.

The “get” is in quotes.
Gotcha. There are some jokes and references that are geared toward members of the LDS faith, but I’m thinking about how I can make sure my friends of other faiths can understand the references.

Will your blog change? Your Facebook? Your Twitter?
The answer, of course, is yes. Everything changes. I don’t know quite what I want to do to appeal to both writers and my potential readers, but we’ll see.

Are you tired?
YES. I just dozed off while typing my last response.

Why don’t you go to bed?
Just one more blog post.

Then stop writing this one!

Photo by Angela

Technique

NaNo success: scheduling

4 November 2011 Jordan 1 Comment

This entry is part 3 of 16 in the series NaNoWriMo success and inspiration

NaNoWriMo can be a pretty crazy time—crazier if you don’t plan ahead. No matter when you do it, doubling or even tripling your work time isn’t easy, at least not if you’d like your life to, you know, not fall apart.

Planning in advance—or RIGHT THIS MINUTE if you haven’t already—is one key to making it through Nano without alienating everyone around you. Plotting, of course, helps, since you don’t have to stop to ponder where your story is going next and how you’ll get there.

But there’s another kind of planning that can make or break your Nano productivity: your schedule. For me, I went through and wrote down everything that I needed to do in a day to keep the rest of my life from falling apart (and if my life falls apart, my three kids’ and my husbands’ lives most likely will, too, and that’s not fair to them, no matter what month it is). We’re talking meals, face time with my kids, and the bare minimum housekeeping tasks. I also wrote out some things I need to do weekly and monthly, and a few one-off tasks I need to finish (Christmas shopping for our Christmas-at-Thanksgiving celebration).

I assigned a time for the daily and weekly tasks—and I found I had a surprising amount of time left for writing once my schedule was in place—and if I follow the schedule, not only will it afford me more writing time, but my house will actually run better and possibly even be cleaner than it normally is!

But now I have to be careful not to squander that work time. My friend Kathleen Brebes won Nano last year in thirteen days and she had some tips on scheduling for success:

A big helper to finishing my novel in thirteen days was that I had made a pact with myself not sign on to the internet until my daily writing was complete; I didn’t even check AI stats [our writing group] or Nano stats until my daily writing was finished. But, I did keep up with my daily housework schedule and DayMinder Agenda. However, the second week of Nano, I didn’t walk or lift weights; I only stretched daily. And, I made sure not to neglect my spiritual and familial commitments.

from A Succor for Writing . . . by Kathleen Brebes: Succor: My First NaNoWriMo.

Now, if a first-time Wrimo can hit the goal in 13 days—and still make time to keep her house running smoothly—I hope we can all get inspiration from that.

What do you do to keep on your writing schedule? What do you let slip—and what can’t you let slip?

Photo by Dru Bloomfield

Jordan McCollum

NaNo inspiration: covers

Is your writing any good? Join my writers' email group to find out how you can get a free edit & skill assessment!

NaNo inspiration: music

Is your writing any good? Join my writers' email group to find out how you can get a free edit & skill assessment!

NaNo “Pinspiration”

Is your writing any good? Join my writers' email group to find out how you can get a free edit & skill assessment!

Nano: Moving forward

Is your writing any good? Join my writers' email group to find out how you can get a free edit & skill assessment!

NaNo fuel: actual food!

Is your writing any good? Join my writers' email group to find out how you can get a free edit & skill assessment!

The big news!

Is your writing any good? Join my writers' email group to find out how you can get a free edit & skill assessment!

NaNo success: scheduling

Is your writing any good? Join my writers' email group to find out how you can get a free edit & skill assessment!

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