Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, Dec 5-11, 2021

December 14, 2021December 12, 2021 / Melanie Marttila

Now I’m back to full-week curation, tipsday is back to its regular size 🙂 Enjoy!

Greer Macallister offers a gift guide for the writer in your life. Then, new contributor Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai considers climbing many mountains. Kathleen McCleary: stories will save you. Then, Kathryn Craft reveals the hidden—but crucial—mad skill. David Corbett: for the sheer joy of it. Desmond Hall drops some writing wisdom: respect for your craft, captain happen, and excavating perspective. Writer Unboxed

Ellen Brock provides her advice for the methodological pantser. In case you need a reminder, Ellen presented her four types of writers about a year ago …

Penny Sansevieri lists ten keys to successful publishing. Then, Colleen M. Story wants you to channel your inner James Bond to boost writing success. Piper Bayard gives you ten steps to get from NaNoWriMo to publication. Writers in the Storm

Jill Bearup says, size does matter …

K.M. Weiland reveals the two halves of the third plot point. (Links to the entire series at the bottom of the post.) Helping Writers Become Authors

Heather Campbell explains how to overcome perfectionism and achieve your writing goals. Then, Tiffany Yates Martin advises when—and whether—to hire a developmental editor. Then, Barbara Linn Probst considers a book launch: baby, art, or product? Jane herself makes a bold statement: yes, social media can sell books, but not if publishers sit on their hands. Jane Friedman

How to self-edit your manuscript. Reedsy

Chuck Wendig delves into the latest publishing controversy: does social media sell books? A vital inquisition! Terribleminds

And Dan Blank offers his reasoned perspective: does social media sell books? We Grow Media

Angela Ackerman explains how symbolism adds depth to a story. Lisa Poisso: when are you ready for professional editing? Writers Helping Writers

The Dragon Lady trope. Regaining her power. The Take

Lauren J. Sharkey is finding the joy of writing. Then, Adam W. Burgess says that if you want to write your best, find your writing community. Angela Yeh shares five ways to change the world with your creativity. DIY MFA

Roz Morris explains how to cope with a hefty report from a developmental editor. Nail Your Novel

Chris Winkle tells you how to keep readers happy with your novel series. Then, Oren Ashkenazi wonders which show is the most engaging, Voltron, The Dragon Prince, or She-ra? Mythcreants

Xiran Jay Zhao does a Chinese cultural breakdown of Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Kristen Lamb explains how to harness the true power of dialogue: talk is cheap.

Sophie Gilbert reveals what the sexual violence of Game of Thrones begot. The Atlantic

Blair Braverman: I moved to a remote cabin to write, and I hate it. Outside

Thank you for visiting, and I hope you found something to support your current work in progress.

Until Thursday, be well and stay safe, my writerly friends!

Thoughty Thursday: Popping your mental corn, Dec 1-4, 2021

December 9, 2021December 5, 2021 / Melanie Marttila

The thoughty was slow in coming last week. Admittedly, I didn’t resume curation until December 1^st, so it makes sense that this post is half the size of usual.

Bidisha: Tudor, English, and Black—and not a slave in sight. From Oct 29, 2017. The Guardian

Mike Householder and Ryan Kryska: student kills 3, wounds 8 at Michigan school. Associated Press

New research suggests social issues are down to neurotypicals more than autistics. Critical Neurodiversity

Imagining inscape: The Human Soul (1913). The Public Domain Review

What is nothing? It’s okay to be smart

Thank you for visiting, and I hope you took away something to inspire a future creative project.

Until next tipsday, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

Tipsday: Informal writerly learnings, Dec 1-4, 2021

December 7, 2021December 5, 2021 / Melanie Marttila

Aaaaand … tipsday’s back! As December 1^st fell on a Wednesday, it’s not its usual honkin’ self, but I managed to fill out the curation with some lovely videos. Enjoy!

Don Maass: the static hiss. Grace Wynter gets up close with Vijaya Bodach—Play. Dream. Believe. Liza Taylor Nash explains how to get your work noticed: street cred. Writer Unboxed

Tim Hickson on writing: subtext (and how to use it!). Hello, Future Me

Lisa Hall-Wilson explains how to go deeper into a character’s emotions. Then, James R. Preston shows us why story is important. Writers in the Storm

Not your hero. Khadija Mbowe

Chris Winkle asks, does your villain twirl their mustache? Then, Oren Ashkenazi looks at how Max Gladstone writes magic law in Three Parts Dead. Mythcreants

Princess Weekes considers the magical negroes of Stephen King. Melina Pendulum

LA Bourgeois offers strategies for reframing rejection. Then, J.L. Doucette shares five ways to silence your inner critic. DIY MFA

Should all writers begin with short stories? Reedsy

Ben Pearson: here’s why movie dialogue has gotten more difficult to understand (and three ways to fix it). Slash Film

Why you have no motivation (and how to fix it). Shaelin Writes

Ena Alvarado explains how social upheaval gave rise to the picaresque novel. JSTOR Daily

Stop worrying about female characters being likeable. The Take

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you found something to support your current work in progress.

Until Thursday (which is a bit of a runt, this week, I’ll be honest), be well and stay safe!

Join me at DIY MFA for my LAST Speculations

December 1, 2021 / Melanie Marttila / 2 Comments

Oh, my goodness, writerly friends! It’s the end of an era!

After five years, I’m leaving my DIY MFA family. It’s sad, because I’ve really enjoyed writing Speculations, but, as I mention in the column, I’ve had to honour my reality and make some tough choices.

I have some new priorities in my life right now and they need my attention.

While you’re there, please do check out the other, excellent columnists, and Gabriela’s awesome writer’s resources.

Until next time, be well and stay safe, my writerly friends!

NaNoWriMo 2021 wrap post

December 1, 2021 / Melanie Marttila

As promised, here is a fulsome review of my experience of NaNoWriMo 2021.

The plan

I had no expectation of winning this year. Because I had just come out of an autistic burnout and was finding writing or revising anything challenging, I decided to be a NaNo Rebel again this year and I set my goal low.

In addition to revising Reality Bomb and filling in my chapter and scene map for the novel, I was going to write my Speculations column for DIY MFA, work on a short story (I had hoped, more than one), and to round things out, I also counted my blogging. In short, I counted everything I wrote in the month.

Even so, I thought I’d only get 30,000 words revised on RB, 2,500 words each on the short story and blog, and 1,000 words on my column. 36,000 words seemed like a reasonable goal.

The progress

I did have the first two weeks of November off work. I was kind to myself, got a solid 8 hours sleep each night, ate well, walked Torvi twice a day, watched television and streaming, and played a computer game as a nightly reward. I didn’t put any pressure on myself. I think it was a good approach 🙂

Between RB and the map, I revised 44,854 words, or 150% of my goal.

I finished my short story in 1,424 words, which was only 57% of my goal. I also submitted it.

I blogged 2,138 words, or 86% of that goal.

On my column, I wrote 1,653 words, which was 165% of my goal there.

Plus, I wrote 360 words on a little side project.

I wrote 5,575 words of the 6,000 I had intended to. That’s 93% of my writing goal.

My winning total for NaNoWriMo 2021 is 50,899, but when I add everything I recorded up, it totals 50,429. So, I made a mistake of 470 words somewhere. Still, I won!

The only badge I didn’t get was recording 1,667 every day.

The pivot

I had expected my progress to slow when I returned to work. And it did, but the progress I’d made in the two weeks I was off, plus the work I was able to do on the weekends was enough to shore up the low production days.

I’ve hit a problematic part of RB at this point, though. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence that it’s the mid-point of the novel. Yes, my middle is saggy. It’s going to require some thought and strategic thinking to tighten it up.

So, I’m going to take another little break, let things percolate for a bit, decorate the house for Christmas (which I haven’t done for … years), and marshal my resources.

I don’t know if I’ll get back to revisions later this month or wait until the new year. I’m going to take the same approach I did with NaNo. I’m going to be kind to myself, set reasonable expectations, and do what I can.

The other factor at play is my recent diagnosis as autistic. I’ve found a therapist, joined a support group, and I’m looking at workplace accommodations. And I’m working full time. I know there are a lot of authors who work full time, but with this new understanding of, and context for my life, I can see the times when I’ve been overwhelmed and burned out. I can’t do it all, all the time.

This weekend, I’ll be posting my next chapter update for October and November (the November piece should be short, ‘cause mini updates).

Until then, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

NaNoWriMo 2021, week 4, mini update

November 28, 2021 / Melanie Marttila

This will be a super quick update today. I’ll have a more complete update on the 30^th. Or maybe the 1^st. Depending on how I feel. I usually need to take a bit of a break after the blitz.

The plan

Keeping on as I was keeping on appears to be working out 🙂

The progress

Between revision on Reality Bomb and filling in its map, I put in 11,484 words.

I wrote 393 words on my short story. Probably only going to get the one done this month.

And this post is 162 words.

Total for the week: 12,039 words.

Running total for NaNoWriMo 2021: 49,861 words.

Think I’ll make the 50k? Yeah, me, too 🙂

The pivot

There are only two days left (!) No time to pivot, even if I wanted to.

As mentioned of the top, I’ll be posting a NaNoWriMo 2021 wrap up on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Until then, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

NaNoWriMo 2021, week 3 mini update

November 21, 2021 / Melanie Marttila

It’s the end of week 3 and I’m still doing well … ? Better than I thought I’d be faring at this point, that’s for sure. Best be grateful, eh?

The plan

I expected my production to dip with my return to work, and there was one day where I only managed 407 words of revision, and two others where I logged less than 1,667 words (1,187 and 1,099, to be specific). Otherwise, though, I recorded over the 1,667 and made up for the shortfall.

There were a couple of stressful days (the ones where I logged 407 and 1,099, coincidentally), but overall, I’ve been trying to manage a better work/life/creative balance. I think it’s working?

The progress

Revisions to Reality Bomb and filling in my scene map amounted to 10,451 words.

I wrote another 360 words of short fiction.

And this update is 214 words.

My total for week 3 is 11,025 words.

And my total for NaNoWriMo 2021 so far is 37,831 words.

The pivot

I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing, I think. No pivot necessary. Of course, I’ll have to watch the work stress. It’s getting better, though.

I hope all my American friends have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Until next week, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

NaNoWriMo 2021, week 2, mini update

November 14, 2021 / Melanie Marttila

Here we are, on Sunday of week 2.

The plan

The plan was to finish my Speculations column and submit it, and to continue revising Reality Bomb and working on my first short story. If I was so lucky as to finish the first story, I’d start a second. There are several open calls and contests coming up. I know I won’t hit all of them, but I’m going to try for a couple.

The progress

I wrote 748 words to finish my column. It’s 1,653 words in total. A little long, but it’s another personal post.

Between revisions and my evolving map of RB, I racked up 12,446 words. I’ve finally made it past the point where I realized I’d have to change the POV to first person and start over. It’s good to be forging ahead.

I wrote 112 more words on my story. It’s a cute one. I’ll tell you about it later in the year.

This update is 359 words.

And … I did a little personal project that amounted to 360 words.

This week’s total word count: 14,025.

NaNo 2021 running total: 26,771 words. That’s an average of 1,912 words a day.

The pivot

Tomorrow is my first day back to work after two wonderful and restorative weeks off. I expect that my productivity will be significantly lower during the week. It’s to be expected. I usually write or revise 250 to 500 words a day when I’m working. It’ll be a bit more than that because I’m not curating. Optimistically, we can probably double that to 500 to 1,000 words a day. But that’s being optimistic. I might catch up a bit on the weekends, but I doubt I’ll “win” this year.

It’s all about the motivation, though. Writing something every day has been good for me. I’m feeling refreshed and inspired. I’m remembering why RB was important to me (actually, I didn’t forget, but autistic burnout messed with my head for a couple of months).

My best wishes to everyone who’s participating in NaNoWriMo 2021 in any capacity. You can do the thing!

Until next week, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!

NaNoWriMo 2021, week 1, mini update

November 7, 2021 / Melanie Marttila

Today is November 7^th and I’m happy to report that I’ve written 12,746 words so far.

The plan

I named my project this year “NaNo Rebel Combo.” And it’s exactly that. I’m working on next round revisions on Reality Bomb, including the work I’m doing on my scene map as I go, some pieces of short fiction, and my next Speculations column for DIY MFA. I’m even counting these blog posts (and my curation posts) toward my goal. It’s a real mixed bag this year 🙂

Also, I have the first two weeks of November off from work. I expect my productivity to take a nosedive starting on the 15^th.

The progress

On RB and the scene map, I’ve written 9,872 words;

I’ve written 141 words on a short story;

I’ve written 905 words of my Speculations column; and

Including this post … I’ve blogged 1,353 words.

Grand total for week one: 12,746 words (1,820/day).

The pivot

Once my Speculations column is submitted, I’m going to refocus on RB and the first short story. When that short story is finished, I’ll start another.

As I mentioned, I’ll be returning to work on the 15^th and don’t expect to accomplish as much after that. But I’ll keep plugging away, as I’m able, and see what I can put together.

We’ll see what I can do in the next week, but I’m not set on winning this year. This is just motivation for me to get back to a more regular practice. As you can see, I’ve only set myself a goal of writing 36,000 words on my spreadsheet. I think that’s reasonable, but what I often think is reasonable turns out to be a stretch.

Until next week, be well and stay safe; be kind and stay strong. The world needs your stories!