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Writing consultant

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  • 20-12-2020 7:58am
    #1
    spalpeen
    Registered Users Posts: 130 ✭✭


    Hi all,

    I've been trying to write a novel for ages and a multitude of things are holding me back. If I had an actual completed first draught then I'd probably ask for a beta read but I haven't gotten that far yet. Has anyone employed a writing consultant or sought help like that?

    I'm after tips/general advice/accountability to help me finish at least a draft.


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    #2
    km85264
    Registered Users Posts: 146 ✭✭km85264


    spalpeen wrote: »
    Hi all,

    I've been trying to write a novel for ages and a multitude of things are holding me back. If I had an actual completed first draught then I'd probably ask for a beta read but I haven't gotten that far yet. Has anyone employed a writing consultant or sought help like that?

    I'm after tips/general advice/accountability to help me finish at least a draft.

    You might be surprised how many people share your predicament. Writing is something that tends to raise our passions but finishing even a first draft of a novel is a long haul and you need to keep going long after the passion has faded. My advice would be to try to bring some discipline to it; all the years I was trying to finish novels (I've finished 4 now, not published any of them but have now found an agent; it took me 30 years to get this far :-) ) I would set a target of 250 words a day, achievable but not overly taxing. The key thing is to do it _every_ day, insofar as you can, then the word count keeps growing.

    If you do feel a mentor is necessary, you'll find plenty of sites offering them: https://irishwriterscentre.ie/products/one-to-one-mentoring https://www.creativewriting.ie/writing-mentor/ though you might prefer to do a course, there are plenty of courses on "finish the novel" and similar. Meeting (even virtually) with other writers in the same place may really help.

    Also, you might want to consider Writers' Ink, though cost is a factor there, see this recent thread: https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin//showthread.php?t=2058140268

    Best of luck with finishing it. Getting even a first draft of a novel complete is a wonderful achievement that will stay with you for life.


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    #3
    spalpeen
    Registered Users Posts: 130 ✭✭spalpeen


    km85264 wrote: »
    You might be surprised how many people share your predicament. Writing is something that tends to raise our passions but finishing even a first draft of a novel is a long haul and you need to keep going long after the passion has faded. My advice would be to try to bring some discipline to it; all the years I was trying to finish novels (I've finished 4 now, not published any of them but have now found an agent; it took me 30 years to get this far :-) ) I would set a target of 250 words a day, achievable but not overly taxing. The key thing is to do it _every_ day, insofar as you can, then the word count keeps growing.

    If you do feel a mentor is necessary, you'll find plenty of sites offering them: though you might prefer to do a course, there are plenty of courses on "finish the novel" and similar. Meeting (even virtually) with other writers in the same place may really help.

    Also, you might want to consider Writers' Ink, though cost is a factor there, see this recent thread:

    Best of luck with finishing it. Getting even a first draft of a novel complete is a wonderful achievement that will stay with you for life.

    Thanks for what seems like very sound advice.

    I do write every day but I struggle with word counts because so much of my process is editing, editing, editing and then very rarely I will splurge out 500 words and then again I will be editing, editing, editing, partially because it needs editing and partially because the well has run dry for new material.

    A lot of my struggle also relates to very strong doubt regarding the viability of what has been written thus far and whether it should all be binned. I did do a 'write your first novel' course and although the material was good and made sense it didn't actually really help me.

    For reference, I'm at it now 5 years. I think we all have similar struggles but it's good at times to type it out and remember we're not alone or at least not alone in going mad!


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    #4
    km85264
    Registered Users Posts: 146 ✭✭km85264


    spalpeen wrote: »
    Thanks for what seems like very sound advice.

    I do write every day but I struggle with word counts because so much of my process is editing, editing, editing and then very rarely I will splurge out 500 words and then again I will be editing, editing, editing, partially because it needs editing and partially because the well has run dry for new material.

    A lot of my struggle also relates to very strong doubt regarding the viability of what has been written thus far and whether it should all be binned. I did do a 'write your first novel' course and although the material was good and made sense it didn't actually really help me.

    For reference, I'm at it now 5 years. I think we all have similar struggles but it's good at times to type it out and remember we're not alone or at least not alone in going mad!

    That's a familiar story indeed. It took me 7 years to finish my first novel.

    The prevailing wisdom has it that you should never revise a first draft. Just keep pushing on and get it finished, then you'll go through many more drafts trying to get it right. I have to admit that I also edit as I go, and I generally pay for critiques as I go. Lorraine Mace of Writers' Forum Magazine is my current preferred reader: https://www.lorrainemace.com/for-writers/ , though you may want to read her crits in the monthly short story competition in the magazine (most Easons will stock it) to see if she's sympathetic to your writing style, but like I said above, there's plenty of sites offering mentoring and critiques.


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    #5
    spalpeen
    Registered Users Posts: 130 ✭✭spalpeen


    km85264 wrote: »
    That's a familiar story indeed. It took me 7 years to finish my first novel.

    The prevailing wisdom has it that you should never revise a first draft. Just keep pushing on and get it finished, then you'll go through many more drafts trying to get it right. I have to admit that I also edit as I go, and I generally pay for critiques as I go. Lorraine Mace of Writers' Forum Magazine is my current preferred reader: , though you may want to read her crits in the monthly short story competition in the magazine (most Easons will stock it) to see if she's sympathetic to your writing style, but like I said above, there's plenty of sites offering mentoring and critiques.

    Thanks, I'll have a look and see if I can find someone that critiques literary fiction


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    #6
    3DataModem
    Registered Users Posts: 3,944 ✭✭✭3DataModem


    spalpeen wrote: »
    so much of my process is editing, editing, editing

    I am guessing this is your problem.

    I wrote a good chunk of my novel while in digs with a journalist and his wife. He gave me simple advice: DO NOT EDIT AS YOU GO.

    Without that advice my novel would not have ever been finished. It is so tempting to clean up timeline, dialogue, continuity etc, but just keep going and wait until the end. Trust me.


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    #7
    RichBradburn
    Registered Users Posts: 6 ✭RichBradburn


    I'd agree with the key advice given above about not editing as you go. I am a writing coach (not looking for new clients just now) and editor, and the key advice I would give to anyone in your situation is 'finish the first draft'. Get to the end before attempting any editing at all. The most important thing to do is to finish the book. Otherwise, as you've found, you'll write a few pages and then go back and revise them and your resulting finished wordcount per day will be miniscule.
    Other tips: it really helps to have a novel plan. Some people swear by 'making it up as they go along', for spontaneity and insight. These are usually the people who get bogged down with writer's block, because there's nothing leading them forward. If you have a plan, you know that the next scene you have to write is the telephone call between Mary and Bob when Mary tells Bob it's all over. That's a lot easier a task than inventing a scene from scratch.
    Secondly, never finish the day's writing on a scene break or, even worse, chapter break. Try and finish mid-scene, or even mid-sentence. It might sound counter-intuitive, but it's much easier to pick up writing the rest of the sentence the following day than it is to start a blank page, and once you've got started ...
    Good luck.


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