Confessions of a Goal Orientated Writer

by Paula Harrison

Cover art of my first published book by a very talented fan

I've been wondering for a while what makes me happy as a writer.

It's clear to me that my approach to work satisfaction has changed quite a bit over the past seven years since I was first published. I know - I know - if you're reading this as a pre-published writer you are probably yelling at the screen: WHAT WOULD MAKE ME HAPPY IS TO BE PUBLISHED, SO STOP TALKING RIGHT NOW! And you'd be right of course, but whether you're published yet or not, there are decisions we all make about what to write, how much time to spend writing, how much to listen to professional and peer opinions about our work and how much attention we pay to what publishers and agents are looking for right now, and I'm here to tell you that those decisions and compromises don't alter once you become published. They become even more multi-layered.

JUST WRITE WHAT YOU LOVE...

Well, yes. Clearly if you loathe and despise reading detective fiction you shouldn't go there as a writer either, but most children's authors have a range of age groups that they could write in and a number of different interests so you're still making a decision about where to start. This can be influenced by what you like reading, what your children (if you have them) like reading or just what you think might prove popular.

DON'T TRY TO WRITE FOR THE MARKET...

I've seen this advice on so many writing blogs and in so many writing books that I'm not even sure which source to credit. The reasoning is that if, by some chance, you notice that books about handsome vampires are very popular in teen fiction right now, then by the time you've written your own and submitted it and it's ready for publication, the trend will have moved on to something else. This can be true. Except that it's more complicated than that. I HAVE seen people make a success of writing in an area that is selling well by entering that genre or age group with their own unique idea.

MONEY, FAME OR REVIEWS AND RECOGNITION?

You may be laughing at this point. So, do children's authors ever achieve good money and fame unless they are part of the tiny handful of household names? Well, maybe not fame. But it is possible to earn good money if you are lucky and your books sell well overseas, for example, but the authors who achieve this aren't necessarily the same ones getting great reviews in the Sunday Times. So would you rather earn well or have people praising your book? If you had to choose what would you do?
Interestingly, I recently began reading The Happy Brain by Dean Burnett, in which he talks about how important it is to us to have the approval of other human beings. I'm paraphrasing here, but he talks of peer approval having a similar effect on the brain as earning money. So we see approval as a very real gain. I think that's relevant to us as writers. Part of the reason we want to be published, to have the big book launch, the great reviews, the praise on twitter, is because we're wired to want it. We all do it. But is that what writing's really about?

WRITING AS A JOB VS WRITING AS A PASSION

Here's the crux of my change in attitudes over the last seven years as a published writer. Writing became my bread and butter, and with that came the realisation of what is actually possible. As a goal orientated person I probably started off with ALL the possible goals: money, reviews and recognition. Yes, please - that would be great!! But being an author can be a difficult and uncertain business and that reality sets in quite quickly for most people.

BUT WHERE IS YOUR PASSION, PAULA?

Don't worry - I haven't lost it! I often write a book that I'm passionate about in between something that will give me a more guaranteed chance at a contract and writing income. This way I can try to balance personal satisfaction with things that will enable me to buy groceries. Sometimes a safer, more commercial project will become the project of passion - taking a turn that brings fan letters from all around the world.
When this happens the readers become the goal. If we're helping children to learn to read, to discover the power of their imaginations, to see themselves in books, then isn't that the best goal of all?


Paula's new series KITTY, featuring a superhero-in-training with cat-like superpowers will be published by OUP in September and is illustrated by Jenny Lovelie.  https://paulaharrison.jimdo.com/kitty-s-midnight-adventures/

Don’t Look Down!

By Nick Cross

Photo by Quinn Dombrowski

I’m a month and a half away from my (self-imposed) deadline to complete the first full draft of my novel. This isn’t a finish-it-and-put-it-in-a-drawer situation, because people are lined up and apparently eager to read it. As a result, I feel like I’m up on a high wire, inching my way through the book and desperately trying not to look down!

The novel is not the only high wire situation, because I’m trying to write this blog post at the same time. Normally, I’d take several days out of my usual schedule to write and format a Slushpile blog post, but there simply isn’t time. So if I randomly start typing dialogue, I’m sure you’ll forgive me.

I like and need deadlines - they’re the only reason I ever get anything finished. But they’re also a source of significant stress. When I set this deadline - back in early January - it seemed like plenty of time to get the job done. And I have worked steadily since then - researching, replotting and writing. The thing I really, really want to do is illustrate and lay out the story, but I have to keep telling myself it’s no good doing that until I have a story to illustrate!

So, I edge along the high wire, day by day, word by word, focusing my attention just in front of my feet. But as much as I try to keep everything on schedule, unexpected stuff happens. Sometimes, I’ll get to a certain point in the story and discover the next few metres of wire are missing because I haven’t planned in enough detail. Other times, I’ll think “Gee, wouldn’t it be cool if...” and weigh up whether it’s worth stepping across to a different tightrope entirely. Occasionally, I stretch a metaphor so far past breaking point that I wonder if my reader will notice...

Photo by Tom A La Rue

Hemingway famously said that all first drafts are shit. Mine aren’t. I’d love to say that’s because I’m the most amazing genius writer the world has ever seen, but it’s mostly because they aren’t first drafts at all. Where other writers splurge with their words, mine are delicately placed. Where other writers start with simple characterisations that they deepen in later drafts, I find my characters as I go, often looping back to add detail to previous scenes or even altering earlier plot to better shape their arc. Frequently, I will scrap a whole draft that isn’t working and go back to the start (I am technically on version 5 of my current novel).

Is this a good way to work, or madness? Would I be happier taking the NaNoWriMo approach of blitzing my first draft and fixing it in the edit? I certainly see myself as less productive than other writers and get frustrated often, but I’m pleased with the quality of what I eventually produce. I felt a little less crazy recently when I read Kelly McCaughrain’s blog post - her technique, which I will sum up as “Don’t panic and fix problems early” spoke to my own way of working.

Experience is definitely a factor - I’ve written enough novels now that I know the kinds of problems I’m likely to have and how to head them off. Conversely, I also know that every novel throws up its own unique issues, and I’ll have to develop coping techniques for that. Writing is a bit like life in that respect!

Photo by Fred Marie

I guess I'll just keep tiptoeing along the wire, balancing as best I can and trying not to think of the yawning chasm beneath me. Because, it’s only a book, right? What could possibly go wrong?

Nick.

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Nick Cross is a children's writer/illustrator and Undiscovered Voices winner. He received a SCBWI Magazine Merit Award, for his short story The Last Typewriter.
Nick is also the Blog Network Editor for SCBWI Words & Pictures magazine. His Blog Break column appears fortnightly on W&P.

Doing Less, Better

By Nick Cross



A month ago, I wrote the following on the wall of our top-secret Notes from the Slushpile hideout:

In the last week, I have:

• Attended two book launches
• Edited a 1500 word story down to 1000 words for the next issue of Stew Magazine
• Formatted and scheduled next week's Alphabet Soup article and started work on the week after
• Commissioned two more Alphabet Soup articles
• Written a Slushpile blog
• Worked full-time for 5 days

So why do I constantly feel like I'm not doing enough?

Why indeed? The Slushpile team were supportive in their replies (apart from Candy Gourlay who I trust was joking when she called me a lazy man!). But for me, the inherent problem lay in that final question. Why wasn't I satisfied with what I'd done, and what did I need to do to make sure that I was?

That led me to take a hard look at my own beliefs. For years, I believed that the more busy I was, the more I would get done. But what if that wasn't true? What if I could get better results and more satisfaction by doing less?

Am I Repeating Myself? Am I Repeating Myself?

By Nick Cross

When I started writing this post, it was because I was in the dreaded state of being BETWEEN BOOKS. I waffled on for 500 words about how terrible it was to be BETWEEN BOOKS, but not as terrible as being homeless or liking Donald Trump, but still, it was a real pain not being able to settle to writing something, and isn’t it annoying all those people who always seem to have a hundred projects on the go and can’t resist rubbing your nose in it on social media?

But then I stopped, because I checked out my own blog and discovered that I’d already posted about this at least twice (here and here). And if there’s one thing I hate, it’s the thought that I’m repeating myself.

It's Nanowrimo and time for Writercise Boot Camp - How to Get Motivated and Write that Novel!

Unlike my warm hearted, keep at-it post  on the joys to come when you've sold your first book, this is going to be a motivational post of the boot camp variety. Read on only if you're tough enough.