GUEST BLOG-PLAIN TALK

Plain Talk Book Marketing was so kind to invite me to be a Guest Blogger during the UNFORGIVEN blog tour! Here’s how it went . . .

Plain Talk (writing a trilogy) with Lori Adams

 
Today I thought I could do some serious Plain Talking about the writing process.

Every writer was a newbie once, and every writer has things they wished they’d known or done before it was too late. Or at least things that would have helped the process run smoother.

I’ve been developing my craft for some years now (always wishing I had started sooner) and am constantly learning new styles, techniques, and do’s and don’ts. I studied English Lit and Shakespeare in college but must admit that I am a self-taught writer. To this day I cringe thinking about college essay assignments. Something about being forced to write on a certain topic felt strangely stifling. I won’t say I didn’t learn a thing or two, but writing a short, confining essay was like a trip to the dentist.

Which leads me to the topic of the day: plain talk about writing a trilogy.

There is a certain amount of faith you must have in yourself to tackle writing a trilogy your first time out. As a paranormal romance, my debut novels involved heavy world building, tons of research, and roughly 288, 300, to 400 pages respectively. I can’t help it; I think big.

My editor thought she bought a single title with ‘possible’ sequels but I knew it had to be three books. I had already envisioned the ending. She said to put it all in one book and I thought Gah! I can’t do that! Lucky for me, she agreed (after hearing the full idea) and, as it turned out, the entire storyline filled up every bit of three books! In one phrase of ‘let’s do it’, the single title of Soulkeepers expanded into The Soulkeepers Series: Forbidden, Awaken, and Unforgiven.

So many of my non-writer friends tell me they can’t imagine writing a novel. I tell them I can’t imagine not writing one.

So, the first Plain Talk suggestion is: do not underestimate the demand for self-discipline. Huge amounts of self-discipline! If you have no contract and no real deadline, it’s all you. So I would suggest creating an artificial deadline. Be realistic. Set a goal based on how many words you can write per day.

Next, if you are serious about writing, take your writing seriously. Don’t view it as a hobby but as a career. And then act accordingly.

Third, find beta readers, people who will tell you the honest truth about your work. And listen to them! Heed their warnings and seriously consider any problems or holes they find in your writing or storyline.

Finally, once you’ve ‘finished’ your novel, put it away for a month and then read it with fresh eyes. I read somewhere that Stephen King puts his away for an entire year! I don’t have the patience for that so maybe somewhere in the middle will work. Read it objectively. Whatever you trip over, fix. Whatever doesn’t make sense, change. Be your own editor. If you want it bad enough, you’ll get there. Someone once told me, the best advise on writing they ever heard was simply . . . get your butt in the chair. Sounds like a great start to me.

Read more and enter to win #Giveaway at Plain Talk Book Marketing here