Preptober Plans and Inspo for Victoria's mysteries

Oct 16th 23 : The words

Dear writers,

So much is happening in such short times your author is feeling quite out of breath. In those times where we feel so heavy and guilty for our comfort, it just feels weird to think about posting advice on how to write for nano. I am so thankful that I have so much content to read to remind myself why I am doing it.

I am doing it because the words saved me many many times and I hope they might help you in some ways. I lived through several times of great uncertainty where my only normal was fantasy books or series. What helped get out of those uncomfortable feelings was writing. No matter if it was me writing about myself or a fictional story. It would bring comfort and peace to my whole being.

I understand that writing might not feel like a priority right now. But if writing helps your mind get quieter, if it helps your day to day, if it makes the world feel less chaotic for a time. Consider offering yourself a writing session here and there, just for yourself.

Today exercise is all about those words. Now that you have a beautiful outline, you need discipline. Indeed, I myself have been guilty of drowning in words in certain chapters (especially the very first ones). I will write 5 000 words in those and finish nano without a finished story.

So let's calculate how many words you can give each of your beat, parts, chapters, scene, or chunk of text. I will advise you to start by fractionating the 50k evenly between those. Then take the time to think about where you need more words. Typically the big 3 we already talked about : beginning, middle and the end. That's where you want your reader to linger. Take the time to pick and choose, add and subtract, think about it.

So when you start writing on the first day of nano, you have a track sheet. You don't get lost in certain descriptions and you keep going. I will say, it is so much easier for me to add words than to delete them. I find that most often, when I am racing to the finish line without losing time in fleshing chapters, the book just writes itself.

Now for this method/idea to fully work, you need a special place in your writing kit for what you would have wished you had in your outline. Let me give you an exemple, in the middle of a chapter, you feel that some character would have benefited from a little bit more attention before. Write it in a special place. You discover that you have not elaborated enough on world building and now your readers might be confused. Write it in a special place.

Because you are writing a first draft, you cannot expect it to be perfect in the first go. So keep note for when you will be redrafting it later. Don't forget to vote and share those advice with writer friends.

Until tomorrow, may you feel peace inside. 

Lady Light