Resource Roundup

The second week of 2018 has been more productive than the first, at least. I'm working on my fifth read of the year. I've made a little progress on revisions (though not nearly as much as I'd wanted to by now). I made it to the first writing group meeting of the year. I finally have an idea for the LIBRARIUM story.

I also got hit with a new idea, which means that FETCH might get put on the back burner. Again.

Anyway, one of the things I wanted to do was make a list of all of the resources I've made use of in 2017. I thought about doing this in the last weeks of last year, but other things came up.

By which I mean I got distracted watching a truly staggering amount of Dragon Ball Z and Dragon Ball Super (Mommas, don't let your babies grow up to have Funimation subscriptions and '90s anime nostalgia).

I'm focused again now, so I figure it's time to share that list.

This year, I dug around on twitter and on the internet trying to find ways to improve my writing and tips on how to connect with others in the industry. I've cut up the list into categories: hashtags, websites, and podcasts.

HASHTAGS

• #MSWL--the official Manuscript Wishlist hashtag. This is a great place to get an idea of what agents are looking for, and to see if there's someone out there who's looking for a project like yours
• #pubtip--a hashtag where folks in the publishing industry share tips, advice, and insight into how the publishing industry works.
• #querytip-- similar to #pubtip, this hashtag tracks advice specific to the querying stage of the process
• #writetip--writers, agents, editors, and the like share advice on various aspects of writing--from structure, revision, and writer tool boxes to advice on dealing with imposter syndrome and the trials and tribulations of being published
• Various Twitter pitch parties-- there are several opportunities each year to pitch your project on twitter in the hopes of connecting with someone looking for the type of work you do. These hashtags are used on the day of the contest to direct agents and editors to pitches, but on non-contest days, you can sometimes find writing and pitching advice, critique partners, and a supportive community. A few of these hashtags are #PitMad, #DVPit (for diverse, Own Voices authors), #PitchSlam, #SFFPit and #PBPit. You can always do a quick Google search to find more or follow agents on twitter.

 WEBSITES

• The Manuscript Academy--This has been one of my most-used resources this year. Created by an author and an agent, The Manuscript Academy offers classes, critique sessions, and a database of agents and editors for writers to dig through. Whatever issue you're having with your work and whatever experience level you're at, there's something of use here. I've personally gotten query critiques, a first-page critique, a first ten pages critique, and a first fifty pages critique. The "faculty" are agents and editors with bios you can review before booking sessions. The feedback I've received through these sessions has be incredibly valuable. As much as I've complained about the reworks required for Project 2016, it's a much better MS than it was before.

• Writer's Digest--Maybe an obvious inclusion on this list, but Writer's Digest consistently shows up with useful tidbits, announcements, and contests. Here, you can find articles on the writing and publishing process, tips on how to deal with issues in your writing, announcements for new agents, information about writing conferences, and various short fiction contests. 

• The Plot Line Hotline--Where most of the resources listed here are curated by others, the Plot Line Hotline gives writers the opportunity to ask specific questions. Six writers run the website, fielding questions on aspects of the writing process--though they don't take questions on publishing.
• Wendy Heard's Critique Partner MatchUp--Finding feedback is one of the most important parts of revision. Speaking for myself, I frequently can't see the forest for the trees when it comes to judging my own work. I'm not great at finding the things that someone fresh to the story can see. But it is so hard to find someone willing to do a thorough read of 80,000 plus words. This site lets you put your name in to be matched with another author of similar experience and genre. You and your partner can serve as fresh eyes for each other's work. The next round of matches are being made this month, so this is a great time to get in on this.
• Writers Helping Writers (Bookshelf Muse)-- This blog is where the Emotion Thesaurus originated. Here, you can find articles on the craft of writing from plotting to revision and special entries on how to use unexpected aspects of the story to make your work more immersive and specific. 

• Query Tracker--A great resource for querying writers. This site has an easy-to-search database to help you find agents that represent your genre and to keep up with who is open to queries. Basic access is free (and all that I've used, personally), but premium access allows you to keep track of your responses, to view agent data, and track response time. Basic users can view comments and contact information on listed agents. 

PODCASTS

• Writing Excuses--A long-running weekly podcast hosted by a number of published writers. The episodes are short (fifteen minutes, per their tagline), which is great if you're busy. Though the hosts sometimes delve into the publishing industry and process, the main focus of this podcast is craft. Each season has a different theme. This year, the theme is character. Their (lengthy) backlog of episodes is available on their website.
• PubCrawl Podcast--Publishing Crawl is a blog chock-full of writers resources. The PubCrawl Podcast is a specific offshoot of this blog, hosted by an author and an agent. Episode topics range from the mechanics of the publishing industry (they have a whole series on contracts) to aspects of craft and frequently include recommendations for other resources. And books. 
• The Manuscript Academy--Connected to the website mentioned before, the Manuscript Academy podcast is hosted by the website's creators. The episodes range from query critiques, first page reactions, agent Q & As, and information about the publishing industry. 

And that's my list! Hopefully, some of these resources can help you on your writing journey. What are some of your favorite writing resources? Let me know in the comments!

Process/Panic

I'm at the point in my writing where I can comfortably say that I'm good but still no where near as good as I think I ought to be (I imagine if you ask other writers that almost all of them will say there in a similar space). In trying to get my skills to where I want them to be--where I need them to be for the work that I'm trying to do--I've been taking a closer look at the process.

"Process" is one of those art words that has a vacillating meaning. What "the process" is can vary drastically from one artist to the next.

For me, the process is largely panic.

About a month ago, I finished the latest draft of what I hope will be my first novel. I got about 80,000 words done in roughly a month and a half. Pretty great, yeah?

Yeah, until you realize that doing that meant spending literally every waking moment that I wasn't at work sitting with the laptop frantically stitching words together.

I had made a deadline. My writing group friend and I had decided that we would both finish our current drafts by the end of May. A reasonable person would have set daily word goals--1,000 to 2,000 words a day would have finished the draft in plenty of time.

I didn't see the day-to-day. I saw a giant, looming deadline and twenty-plus chapters that needed extensive rewrites.

I panicked.

This is a pattern in my life that is by no means limited to my writing. And it's served me reasonably well: it's how I managed to get a teaching job at the end of June and have two courses prepped through October by mid-July and how I went from a proposal to a successfully completed and defended thesis in a month and a half of work.

The thing with panic is that, while it might help me get done what I need to get done, it does so at the cost of my equilibrium. After a certain point, a sort of writing delirium sets in. I've focused on one thing too long, and I can't shift my brain to anything else. I forget directions. I stare blankly at the microwave trying to remember how to get it to open (this one was particularly embarrassing--my microwave door just has a handle).

And this hyper-focus doesn't make my work any better. I pounded out draft after draft of my thesis, and got a long list of revisions for each one. The novel draft I finished last month is with my writing group friend, and I'm sure she'll have a set of things for me to double check or revise.

I get things done, but it doesn't actually save any steps. It doesn't necessarily speed things up.

I'm gearing up to dive into a new project. I don't have a hard deadline for it set--right now the goal is just to complete a draft by sometime next March. I want to try something different. I want to be more consistent. I want to take more time with my process.

In trying to "refine my process" (which sounds nothing at all like the sitting-in-my-pjs-and-munching-on-chips-while-I-scroll-through-blogs-and-listen-to-podcasts-while-occasionally-getting-distracted-by-twitter situation that it actually is), I've started looking at other writers' thought processes.

I'm of the opinion that there is no one correct "process"; that everyone sort of has to work out how to do this thing for themselves. But that doesn't mean that you can't Frankenstein what other people are doing and come up with something that suits.

I started with trying to get into the heads of writers whose work I love. A couple of them have made this super-easy. Kieron Gillen, writer for my current favorite comic book series, The Wicked + the Divine, posts issue-by-issue writer's notes in which he gives a glimpse into not just his part of the creation process, but also the work that his collaborators do for some of his works on his Tumblr. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the man behind the Pulitzer-winning musical Hamilton, published a book that uses anecdotes to guide the reader through the show's journey to Broadway and contains a libretto complete with Miranda's annotations that detail some of the thought behind the lyrical, musical, and story choices made for the show. Seeing the complicated decision-making (and dashes of panic) that go into some of my favorite works has made me regard my personal process with a little more warmth.

Feeling better about what I do is just part of the puzzle (though seeing some of my doubts echoed by creators that I respect does help ease my imposter syndrome worries a little). There's also the issue of learning the craft. If my experience grading papers has taught me anything, it's that everyone thinks that they can write without help, and pretty much everyone is wrong. I'm a reasonably competent writer, but there are things about the craft that I don't know because I lack a certain level of experience.

One of the things that's great about the communication technology that exists today is that people that have the same sets of questions and concerns can reach out, directly or indirectly, to the people that have the answers and vice versa. If I want to have a group of successful authors in my living room, telling me about strategies to aid a writer in my position, I can do that.

Podcasts, man. Podcasts are excellent.

There are a boatload of writing podcasts out there--way more than I've had the time to check out. Do a quick Google search of "writing podcasts" and you'll see a dozen lists of "Best Podcasts for Writers." One cast that's on most of these lists--the one that I've been binge listening to--is Writing Excuses, jointly hosted by Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells. They look at everything from character creation, story structure, and setting to publishing, dealing with life as a public figure, and deadline pressure.

These resources haven't removed the panic from my process entirely. I don't imagine I'll ever write in a way that's totally panic-free. But they have changed how I'm approaching my new project. I find myself taking more time to lay out plans, spending more time in the world I'm making, getting to know my characters better. It's too soon to say if this process will be more effective, but it certainly feels better.

And, for now, that's victory enough.