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.

Ten Tips for Dealing With Deadlines

By Kathryn Evans

via GIPHY

I am neck deep in edits at the moment, and spending 8-10 hours a day typing, so I planned to write this post about practical ways to deal with deadlines.  I asked my fellow slushies for their advice and the very lovely Jo Wyton pointed out that this blog is primarily for writers still on the slushpile. Writers who long for a deadline.

How could I have forgotten? That was me,  until fairly recently. More of Me only came out in 2016 after many, many years of trying to get published.

Five years ago, if  I'd have read the post, I'd have wanted to say:

 "AT LEAST YOU HAVE A DEADLINE".

BUT we can give ourselves deadlines and I suggest that you do. You can make them feel real  by telling someone. I meet every month with a group of fellow writers from SCBWI. We set ourselves targets and know we have to own up the next month if we don't meet them. Though self imposed, this commitment  honestly helps keep you writing.

Deadlines can be really helpful. They give you focus and drive - sure, they can also make you panic and give you RSI.  So, if you don't have wether you have an imposed deadline or you self create one,  be positive about them and do these practical things  to keep your mind and body in good order!

Kathryn Evans' Top Ten Tips for Dealing With Deadlines.

1. Get up and moving  every twenty minutes - walk, star jump, roll your shoulders -anything you like but for a few minutes, have a good old wriggle.
2. Install a standing desk - sitting down too much is no good for your stomach muscles and they, in turn, support your back. Switching between sitting and standing  is so much better for you than sitting all day.
3. Don't use caffeine to keep you alert -top advice from Paula Harrison - it'll leave you with headaches and a racing heart.
4. Candy Gourlay uses Headspace, the meditation app. I use this too and find that taking 10 minutes out of my day to just breathe is really energising.
5. Don't work at a computer screen for the  30 minutes before you go to bed, it won't help you sleep.
6. Install f.lux on your computer It dims your screen at sunset and brightens it at sunrise helping to keep your body more in sync for sleep and preventing tired eyes.
7. Get some fresh air - go outside and fill your lungs, look at the clouds, expand your view and free your mind.
8. Eat well. Don't be tempted to stuff yourself with junk because time is short, your body needs nutrients. I keep a ready-cooked roast chicken in the fridge and bags of salad- super easy, healthy lunches - and I always have fruit in the house: fresh, tinned, dry and frozen. Frozen grapes are a delicious treat!
9. Speak to someone who understands - letting off steam when you feel under pressure can really help.
10. Take a minute to watch a cute animal video - they genuinely reduce stress! 

via GIPHY


 Kathryn Evans is the award winning author of More of Me: A gripping thriller with a sinister sci-fi edge, exploring family, identity and sacrifice. She loves faffing about on social media: find her  on Facebook and Instagram @kathrynevansauthor and tweeting @KathrynEvansInk.  

How to Thrive on Deadlines

Paula working as a Pirate
before she realised she
could write like the wind

We are so pleased to introduce the latest recruit to Notes from the Slushpile, our best-selling writer pal Paula Harrison — she who has sold more than a million Rescue Princesses and seems to have books effortlessly leaping out of her jumper. Recently, Paula branched out from princesses to dragons, unicorns, firebirds and magical foxes. As if that isn't enough, this September, Paula's launching a new middle-grade book: Robyn Silver. What an example for us slow-coaches to emulate and the Slushpile is sooooo lucky to have her! Welcome, Paula ... we're hoping some of your publishing magic dust sprinkles over the rest of us!

I have a book to finish.

No one in my house is impressed by that excuse for not doing the washing up any more. I always seem to have a book to finish. My work squeezes into the school day and spills over into the evening. With two chapter book series to work on and a novel for 9+, I sometimes feel like I’m juggling hoops, whilst riding on a unicycle, whilst taming a lion, whilst... You get the idea.

A sketch of me juggling whilst riding a unicycle whilst taming a lion.
Drawn because SOME people in my house found it amusing!

Not that I’m complaining. I know how lucky I am to be published and writing full time. But there’s a lot to do and while publishers will move deadlines back for authors of stand-alone books, in my experience they tend not to do so if you’re writing a series. It could be that changing the time gaps between the books is problematic for them. (It's worth mentioning here that I've never written for a packager - all my stories are dreamed up and written by me - but I assume if you do the deadlines involved are not particularly flexible either.)

So I’ve developed a few tricks for writing more than one book for more than one publisher. Authors who have to do this are often picture book and/or chapter book writers. But first here’s a quick round up of what I’m currently working on.

Secret Rescuers is a chapter book series which I’ve largely completed. I’m waiting for copyedits on the last two books. 

Robyn Silver: The Midnight Chimes is for 9 + and is DUE OUT IN SEPTEMBER! Sorry did I get a little excited there? Did I mention I have an awesome cover and very shiny proofs courtesy of my new publisher, Scholastic? I’ll be writing more of the second book this summer. 

Young detective series with a secret title! This is what I’m currently writing and it’s due out in 2017. Not having written mysteries before, I’m finding I love it. But I can't tell you anything else about it yet!

OK, TIME FOR THE TIPS!

Make a plan

Whether you keep it in your head, note it down on paper or make a spreadsheet on the computer, you need a plan of what you’re going to write and when. It take practice to work out how many weeks or months each stage of a book will need – first draft, edits, copyedits.

My plan is in my head mostly, but if you’re new to managing multiple deadlines I’d recommend using a calendar. Allow yourself a cushion of extra time in your plan because stuff happens! You may get flu or the washing machine may break. Life can get in the way!


Let your agent and publishers know how you’re getting on

If things take longer than you’d expected, let your publisher know. The sooner you tell them there may be a problem, the easier it is for them to try to find you extra time. Nobody wants to be that person who says they can’t make a deadline but with lots of notice it is less of a disaster.


Focus on one thing at a time

Writing is an immersive experience and we live each story as we write it. You can’t do that properly if you’re thinking about the book you’re about to move on to when this one’s finished. You also can’t immerse yourself fully if you’re thinking about the cat’s vet appointment this afternoon.

Find ways to pour yourself into the story. For me, music is an excellent short cut into the mood and mind-set of my story. I have at least one piece of music for each book – sometimes more. Sometimes I find a song that suits a particular character. Then I’ll play it before I start writing.

Objects can also be helpful. For Pale Peak Burning, the last in the Red Moon Rising trilogy, I kept a chunk of granite taken from the Peak District where the book is set on my desk. When I wrote, The Storm Dragon (Secret Rescuers book 1) one of my kids made me a little dragon that sat beside my monitor. I know writers who create mood boards either using collage or online using Pinterest or a similar site. I also change the wallpaper on my computer to suit each story so that as soon as I switch on, I’m in the right frame of mind.

The original Storm Dragon - in Plasticine

Organise yourself in a way that suits you

Like most writers, I have a large collection of notebooks and I make sure I have plenty written down to refer to. It’s the worst thing in the world to return to your story at edit stage, after spending time writing something totally different, and have gaps in your memory about settings etc. If you think you may forget, write it down or draw it!


Protect your creative time

I’d like to refer you back to Teri Terry’s recent Plot Bunnies blog post here. All this organising, making plans and writing down notes can make you feel as if your writing life lacks colour. You need time to mull things over – to have that unexpected thought that changes the direction of your story. Allow time in your schedule for this – the creative spark is what brought us all to writing in the first place.

 (Pssst! If anyone says you’re writing too many books remind them that Shakespeare wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets! Taking 7 years to write a book is absolutely fine and so is taking 4 months. Let's embrace our differences as writers - be that many books or few!)

No deadlines were missed in the writing of this blog!