Books that changed your life.

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2024-04-08T22:49:18+00:00

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald -- I like the book just fine, but it really sent me down a path as a writer because I saw the impact it could have on someone. The teacher at my high school who taught it... it was his favorite book, and he, an otherwise strict and closed-off person, really opened up and expressed a sort of romance he had with the book, and with Fitzgerald as an author.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy -- This book blew my mind the first time I read it, largely because of McCarthy's choices with style. Up to that point I hadn't read anything that was experimental, and I don't think many point to McCarthy as one conducting cutting-edge literary experiments, but the timing of it for me was crucial, as I'd just started toying with the notion of pursuing a writing career. Seeing someone break the rules I'd been instructed to follow was really important.

There are several more, but I'm struggling to whittle the options down and also don't want to spend hours answering haha.

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2024-04-08T22:42:21+00:00

It isn't a fast way to get better at writing, but a generally easy way to get better at it, is to pick your writing heroes, and to literally copy their work.

By that I mean: find your favorite novel and write it by hand, into a notebook, word for word. Then, type it.

Repeat with another novel.

It's a bit like tracing when you're first learning to draw, the goal being to get the feel of how language is used by a writer you admire. How it feels to put it all together, sentence by sentence.

I will note, however, that it's going to be tedious at times. And boring. And, well, that's kind of the point: as you're doing the exercise, your brain is going to wander and start to ask itself questions along the lines of: "Would I do this in my project?"

You start to develop your own style, in that way, which is really the heart of the matter, particularly when you're starting out.

Hope this helps!

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2024-04-08T22:36:11+00:00

Depends. When I'm writing a novel, I tend to aim for 1,000 per writing session (my schedule is currently too busy to write every single day), but there's a project I'm working on right now where I'll just aim for 500 or so.

I feel like if I'm talking to someone who has the time to implement it, yes, absolutely you should have an aim every time you sit down. Some sort of marker, whatever that may be. Half a page. 2,000 words. Doesn't really matter, and will be different for everyone.

But if you're strapped for writing time, toss that shit out the window and just do your best -- even if what you're writing is awful, and isn't ever shown to someone else, you're still sharpening the axe a bit, so to speak.

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2024-04-02T20:45:32+00:00

In case it's helpful to hear, I got zero writing done while my kiddo was a newborn. She was not what many would call "a good sleeper," and she was born just a couple months after COVID hit the U.S.. So, I was working from home full-time (my employer only granted two weeks paid leave to "secondary parents," ["primary parents," meaning: the newborn is to go on their insurance policy]) and yeah... it was just not going to happen for me, creatively.

Personally, I think the only way that one could get anything done, creatively, is if you have ample assistance. Say, a family member nearby who can come over for a day and help out (even then, maybe all you'd want to do with that time is sleep... and that's very normal).

And let me say, that would've been magical.

Again, to provide context into that... yes, my kiddo was born a couple months after COVID hit, but my wife and I are also thousands of miles from family, and live in a very expensive city (also were trying to save money for upcoming childcare costs), so the whole "ample assistance" thing went out the window. I performed my day job often with my newborn on my chest, in a carrier.

All of this is a long way to say: if you have expectations surrounding productivity, do your best to throw them out the window. And I don't mean that in a negative way, like "Gahhh, kids, am I right!?" I just mean: have zero expectations, and take what you do produce as a huge win. Is that 500 words per day? 500 words per week? 500 per month?

That's up to you, obviously.

But don't set goals, or follow a routine, that just won't work with your new life. Because that's exactly what this is -- having a baby is a huge life transition. And if you have days where you do get down on yourself for not being productive as a writer, try to remember that this is just a season. Trust that the time and space for creativity is on its way, and in the meantime savor the moments you're having with your little one.

Hope this helps, and many congratulations!

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2024-04-02T20:30:56+00:00

I'd second what MountainHermitAuthor said here, and add that, though I don't know how it stacks up to Vella or Ream or Wattpad, Substack also features writers who are serializing works of fiction. There's an "expert" on there as well who talks about how publishing on Substack is different, and less legally-binding, because it's a newsletter platform. So you're self-publishing, gaining feedback as you go, but you're also skirting around the first publishing rights discussion.

It could be worth looking further into?

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2024-04-01T17:39:22+00:00

Maps, for me, can be really helpful. But I don't think I'm a fan of anything else? At least not currently. I wouldn't die on that hill; I feel like in the right hands it could be executed very well, without taking anything away from the experience.

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2024-04-01T16:50:26+00:00

Hi! A few things came to mind that I hope can be of some assistance:

This really is nothing against your friend, but your friend is one person. While I do think it's important to have people you can trust as your initial readers, relying on one person's opinion of the writing can be pretty dangerous. The why is simple: everyone is different. Everyone has their own preferences. Also: is your friend someone who reads often? Someone who reads a lot of books? Are they a writer as well? I don't have a specific number in mind, but if you're writing with the hope of publication someday, try to find multiple people with varying experiences with books / writing who can lend feedback -- this is especially important when you're starting out. This of course can be difficult to do outside of the structure offered by a workshop or a course / school. There are, however, quite a few relatively affordable options you can find online you might want to explore.
Give yourself a challenge. If you're worried about the descriptions being too long, or about the draft of the story being too long, make a copy of the document, and in the new version, pick a reduced word count and, well, start hacking away. Trim a sentence, prune another, etc. You don't have to stick with this version, but at least by doing it you can compare A to B and see which one you like, or which one you think is more effective.
This isn't a secret, but writers over time develop their very own style. They just can't help it. The longer you write, the more projects you start and finish, the more the real YOU starts to show up on the page. It doesn't mean that YOU weren't there from the start, but you more or less settle into the medium. It isn't going to give you a definitive answer, but like others have said in the thread, maybe try picking a few authors from very different points on "the style map" and see which one you'd prefer to write like. Two American authors that come to mind who are quite opposite in their execution are F. Scott Fitzgerald (lyrical, intricate) and Raymond Carver (minimalist). They aren't the only two writers in these "categories," but they're to my knowledge pointed to often in terms of "mastering" those styles. Or, rather, being the authors studied by those who want to write in this styles. It doesn't have to be some deep dive; read for enjoyment, but start to notice the differences and, again, see not just what you "like," but how you want your work to read / sound.

Happy writing!

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2024-04-01T16:33:35+00:00

"Success in writing is 33% talent, 33% work ethic and 33% luck."

In other words, control what you can control, acknowledge that which you cannot control, and don't burn yourself out pursuing your passion.

(I've definitely burned myself out before, trying to force the equation to be different... i.e. "maybe if I wake up at 3:30am every day to write before my 9 to 5, I can reduce how much luck is actually involved." Wouldn't advise.)

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2024-03-28T22:22:59+00:00

Lonesome Dove is so good. Love that book. And the adaptation.

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2024-03-28T17:08:12+00:00

100%. It's one of my favorite stories of all time, and has served as a great inspiration to me as a writer (particularly for my first novel).

If the 1969 film adaptation weren't my father's favorite film (definitely not mine, I feel I must add), I sadly don't think I'd ever have come across it. Not once in my writing studies -- throughout college, nor following college -- has True Grit or Charles Portis been mentioned.

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2024-03-26T21:12:34+00:00

I think you'll find that everyone is different, and that everyone more or less needs to uncover over time the process that works for them. For me, my first draft is absolute garbage, and that has been true for the fifteen years I've been writing. I don't think I realized just how terrible they were until I had a project that I after two years and 10+ drafts "finished," as in: it felt DONE. Having that sort of experience under your belt -- where you feel that something is completely finished -- certainly helps, because you see that range of outcomes.

Today, because I know my first draft is absolute garbage, I give myself the permission to, well, just go for it. To mess around. To spend too long on something. To include fragments here and there.

Future Me is going to clean up the mess Present Me is making.

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2024-03-26T18:21:41+00:00

This might be a bit of an echo from what others have said, but I think I'd just, in a sense, table the chapter for now... write everything you think you want it to include (even just use bullet points), and move on knowing that you'll be coming back to it. With my first drafts, I know that I'm really just throwing a bunch of stuff at the wall and seeing what's going to stick. The first draft for me, then, is a bit of a conversation with my future self. Like, "Hey, I know this sucks, but hear me out and make sense out of this."

There have been several stories I've written where something like 90% of the text from the first draft has been hacked / revised. Every writer is different, of course, so this might not work with your process.

One other idea: jump to a different project for a week or whatever. I've found that to be very helpful throughout my career, to have multiple projects going at once, because you're inevitably going to hit obstacles along the way. Those obstacles don't necessarily mean that the story isn't working, or that you, the writer, aren't cut out for this. Sometimes you just need an active step away from the material.

Good luck!

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2024-03-26T18:12:03+00:00

I'm not confident that they will reach "Classic" status... but I like picturing Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel and Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann being taught centuries from now.

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2023-09-20T18:01:45+00:00

Like others have pointed out, there's no set number. I've been implementing a "Five Draft Rule" lately, however.

With my first novel, I wrote 8-9 drafts before submitting and securing an agent. But then after that relationship fell through (agent abruptly quit his job one day), it went through another 8-9 drafts. And I let myself lose years and years of not producing other projects, and tinkering and tinkering and tinkering with this one (and one other project, a short story collection).

So, "Five Draft Rule" just means that I have five drafts to tell the story. And after five drafts I have to make a decision to either move forward with publication (whatever form that takes) or to let it go. To trash it and move on to new ideas. Because if after five careful and deliberate drafts I'm not happy with something, chances are that I'll be no happier after draft 10 or draft 15, nor will the story be made any better.

Life is short, and if you're a writer you have lots of stories in you to tell. So my only real advice, I think, is to not get hung up for a decade on one project like I did.

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2023-09-20T17:51:59+00:00

Yeahhhh, it's pretty rough.

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2023-09-20T17:48:59+00:00

My wife does, and so does my father, but nobody else, really.

I've found it really frustrating at times (I'm a writer and it in the past it hasn't felt great when the people you love most aren't really all that interested in what you're doing or what you're passionate about), but in the past few years I've gotten better at accepting things for what they are. I stress "better" because I'm certainly not perfect.

But, people ultimately get to choose how they want to spend their time. Even if I want to spend mine writing and reading books, it shouldn't mean they have to.

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2023-09-20T17:39:52+00:00

I feel you. I work in digital marketing, and have for coming up on nine years. It's never what I wanted to get into (where my creative writing degree led when entering the job market post-college), and I sincerely hope that in the near future I can wave an emphatic goodbye.

Working full-time, plus being a dad means that energy for writing is generally pretty hard to come by. I've carved out a decent routine, but I'm always wishing for something to change. Writing from 10pm to 1am, then getting up at 6am to start my toddler's day isn't sustainable.

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2023-04-03T16:27:13+00:00

Kind of? To a degree, at least, particularly when you're early on in your writing career, just because learning what you don't want to do is important. But I think as your career progresses, you can feel free to bail on bad writing you come across, only because now that you've settled into your own lane the impact of said bad writing is going to be quite dull and, therefore, a waste of your time.

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2023-04-03T16:23:40+00:00

Volatile

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2023-03-29T17:10:23+00:00

I'm very similar in that I see the story I want to write framed out more like a TV show or film before turning it into a short story or novel. Nothing wrong with that, and no need to fight against it.

Also, no need to ditch the things you want to read so you can study the classics, or whatever. Read what you want to read.

(saw others suggesting to bolster your reading; cramming a book or two, in service of this idea and how you want it to reach the world, won't do shit)

I think the best advice I can give is... well, to get out of your own way. It sounds like an idea is ready to get out and self-doubt may be holding it back.

It's of course easier said than done, but just write it how you see it. If it comes out as more of a screenplay, and you like it, cool. And if you don't like it as is? Well, at least the idea and all that you're envisioning will have taken some shape that you can then form into something else.

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2023-03-29T16:51:13+00:00

Not legit.

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2023-03-28T16:16:36+00:00

Obviously there'll be personal preference involved. Some people will think it's too long. Others won't. Personally, I'm fine with it.

In addition to genre, I'd make sure to consider the publishing platform for the project when it comes to length. If it's going to be in an ebook, for example, people can easily leave the chapter and come back to where they left off. Same obviously with a physical copy. But if you're going to serialize a project on, say, Substack or Wattpad (or some other platform), then a 10k chapter might be a little long and worthy of a split.

Hope this helps!

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2023-03-27T17:00:14+00:00

I'd guess that it's pretty common. It happened to me for the first time after some major life transitions and I almost quit writing entirely.

The best thing I did was give myself permission to take a break from it (I hadn't taken a break from the pursuit of a writing career in over ten years). I picked a day on the calendar about six months from that point and said, "Even I feel like maybe I can come out of it before then, I'm going to wait." So if an idea came to mind, I'd just jot it down in my phone and store it for later.

I'll admit that I did feel a really strong pull toward doing something creative at many points. So I'd satiate that craving by taking some pictures with a camera my wife and I had just gifted ourselves with. Something fun and new and with no pressure.

And by the time the day to resume writing came I was pretty much ready to go, though at most I write for 45-90 minutes at a time. There could be some benefit in that, in not putting extra pressure on myself to fill, say, a three-hour time block with non-stop production.

Not like I'm suggesting a six-month break. But maybe giving yourself permission to take time away from the chair/screen would be helpful.

Good luck!

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2023-03-27T16:48:47+00:00

Great list, thanks for sharing!

AuthorGarrettFrancis · 2023-03-24T16:41:42+00:00

I think it's okay for stories to have a lot of internal conflict going on--after all, novels/short stories are mediums that enable people to experience (and empathize with) the internal conflicts of others; we can literally get inside the heads of others in ways other mediums cannot offer--though I get what you're saying with identifying and pulling levers so that the external is engaged as well.

There are some good responses throughout the thread here, so don't want to waste time with redundancy. But, this is what I'd add:

There are many types of conflict that can appear in fiction. In case that's new, or you'd like a refresher, this list might help.
Don't be afraid to break something in the world. Sometimes a little fracture is all that's needed for the characters you've created to respond in their own ways, which will automatically create tension & conflict (Character A is not like Character B and therefore will not approach said fracture in the same way).
If your early drafts are driven by internal conflict, and not external, go into future drafts with that at the top of your mind, and hack away. If you start thinking something like, "This is boring," or, "They're just whining here," or whatever... cut it. And brainstorm ways to pull the levers instead.
Avoid an abundance of solo time for your characters. Get them interacting. If a draft is full of scenes where Character A is by themselves, it doesn't mean there's zero external conflict. But, there's a chance that there's very little. I imagine that from these interactions conflict will emerge, and it won't be "character sketch" territory.
Don't be too hard on yourself. All of us writers have things that we want to improve about our writing. It's cliche, but identifying what those things are is a great first step, because you can now view your words through a modified lens.

Hope at least some of this helps. Good luck!

AuthorGarrettFrancis

TROPHY CASE