Category Archives: Dave Heyman

Quitting with feeling

Dave Heyman The Writing Process Your Writing Career 1 Comment

Quitting, as a word, has a real negative connotation to it. In the context of writing, I prefer to think of it as re-prioritizing my resources. Knowing when I’m not using my valuable writing time to the best advantage is a valuable skill to have. Like the song says, know when to walk away and know when to run.

There are any number of writing goals where the decision to quit or keep going might come into play, but I would like to focus on when to walk away from a story. The moment when you make that decision is an individual one, and will vary from writer to writer. My only goal is to provide the method that works for me, and that is a goal I will not quit.

To give my approach, I need to provide a little context on my professional life outside writing. For many years I have provided high-level technical support to customers on various pieces of network infrastructure equipment. Some of this is done through email, but a lot of the interaction is over the phone. Over time, a support engineer develops a relationship with the phone itself and its ability to provide the engineer with his or her task, which is the customer at the other end.

When that phone rings, you feel something. Excitement perhaps, or anticipation. Where the alarm bells start to go off for me is when that ring would produce negative emotions like irritation or even anger. Now I don’t like this customer and I haven’t even spoken to him or her yet. That’s a problem, and a sign that I needed a break or a change of pace.

For me, writing is the same. When I sit down at the keyboard I should want to be there. I don’t have to completely like all of my characters all the time, but I have to be excited to write about them. If I’m not – if I’m dragging myself to the keyboard with a grumble as I dread another session with this story, that’s when I think about walking away.

The nice thing about writing stories though is it’s a job you can quit and come back to as many times as you want. I have ‘quit’ many stories for a time, only to come back at them fresh some weeks or months later. Many of them I ended up enjoying and finishing, and if I didn’t I at least learned something by thinking about why that story didn’t grab me in the end.

So, quitting is not bad thing and it doesn’t have to be forever. The skill of knowing when to quit is just another tool in your writer’s toolbox.

2017 in review

Dave Heyman No Comments

Seen through almost any metric I can imagine, 2017 was my most successful writing year yet. Any metric that does not include revenue, anyway.

I started this year by sending my novel Under Everest off to my editor. Written in the last half of 2016, Under Everest was the first novel that I wrote with an intent to publish. At the time I thought I would self-publish the book sometime later in the year, with the hopes of releasing more books in the series in the future. Most of 2017 was to be spent writing books outside the series, with the hopes of publishing one later in the year.

Like many plans, that one changed.

Once I spoke with some of my self-publishing peers at 2017’s Superstars of Writing Conference in Colorado, it became clear that I needed to expand the Everest story into a trilogy. I retargetted my launch window for 2018, now with the intention of releasing all three Everest books in that year.

Of course, that left me with two Everest books to outline and write. I’d never done more than one book in a year. In fact, Under Everest was only the second full length novel I’d ever written. It really felt like I might be taking on more than I could handle.

Fortunately my house was being worked on immediately after Superstars, which landed me in a hotel for several weeks. During that time I plotted out books 2 and 3 of my new series in one long effort. Once my hotel stay was done, I was ready to start writing book 2.

Writing Seas of Everest

Once I started working on Book 2, titled ‘Seas of Everest’, I began to regret the decisions I made at the close of Under Everest. Specifically the decision to split my protagonists into two different areas, as it forced me to essentially write two separate stories. I decided to write one story to completion and then the other, leaving the task of weaving them together until both were complete.

In the end, working out how those stories would interrelate with each other was a very satisfying process and I was quite happy with the result. Just like Under Everest before it, when I completed Seas and send it off to my editor, I felt like I had accomplished more than I knew I was capable of.

Writing Dragons of Everest

Writing the third book in the series became an adventure unto itself. Hit with the possibility of having the same editor for all three books, I had to race and complete the first draft of the manuscript in 40 days. Little over a month to complete a 100,000 novel would require me to write at a pace I’d never done before, as well as push me to not skimp on all the epic moments a trilogy finale needs. All this while still untying plot knots and factoring in editor feedback from Books 1 and 2. As with the book before it, I ended up learning that I was capable of more as a writer than I thought. I completed the book on time, even with a few days to spare.In the end I was very happy with the final (first draft) product. At that time I thought that would be the last I would be writing of my Everest crew for some time.

The Fifth Interdictor

Once Dragons of Everest was off to the editor I took a month to finish an older novella of mine, The Fifth Interdictor. By the end of November I had sent that off to an editor as well, which will leave me with four books that I can publish next year.

Looking forward to 2018

Again consulting with my friends in self-publishing, it became clear to me that my best path for writing in 2018 was to continue inside the Everest series. Fortunately it is a world filled with characters I love and a lot of untapped story potential. I am excited to see what the results will be next year as I attempt to double my 2017 output and produce four more novels in the series.

In Conclusion

I could not be more proud of my output in 2017. Not only did I produce two novels and a novella, I learned new ways to outline, new methods for setting up scenes and chapters and completely reinvented my writing process along the way. I very happy with the quality and content of the work and am excited to look forward to 2018 when these characters can finally meet the world.

The Secret Lessons of NaNoWriMo

Craft & Skills Dave Heyman Making Progress as a Writer The Writing Life The Writing Process No Comments

All this month the Fictorians have been talking about one of my favorite times of year: Nanowrimo! As I’ve discussed in the past, Nanowrimo was instrumental in my transitioning from desiring to write to actually producing work I was really happy about. What I’d like to cover in my post this month are the ‘other’ lessons Nanowrimo can teach you.

First, let’s cross off  the two well-discussed one’s: ‘writing every day’ and ‘turning off the internal editor.’ Several of the Fictorians have covered these this month and there’s a ton of discussion out there about them, so I won’t belabor the point.

I’ll just add that I agree that you don’t *have* to write everyday to be a writer and that word count goals are at best a double-edge sword. For me, Nanowrimo was huge and I personally try to write every day. What works for you is for you to find, of course.

Beyond these two though, I’d like to introduce what I feel are the secret lessons of Nanowrimo. Four years after my first Nano ‘win’, these are the instructions I learned that first November that still stay with me and keep me productive:

GOALS HAVE VALUE

Moving away from a goal of writing x words in y time, any kind of goal is a fantastic motivator. Over time I’ve come to move away from word count goals and into scene goals. Each day I lay out the scenes I want to accomplish with that day’s work and then I don’t stop until I get them done. Chasing that carrot keeps me going, even through sleepy afternoons and days when the screen wants to stay blank. I need to get that goal, so keys get hit and words start to happen. Without a goal oriented approach, I’m doubtful I would get as much done.

WRITING IS AN ENDLESS EXERCISE

When I completed my first Nanowrimo, I had written 50,000 words. I wasn’t done though, there was much more novel to write. I added another 80,000 words and the story was finally complete. But I wasn’t finished, it was a first draft and a lousy one at that. I revised it several times, but I still wasn’t finished, because I needed to get some beta reads on it. After the beta reads came more revisions, and on and on. In truth, it’s never finished. At some point you decide the project it done, that additional work is not going to push the needle much farther.

Then you start the next one.

KNOW WHO YOU ARE AS A WRITER

Before Nanowrimo I didn’t know how important outlines were to me. I didn’t know if I could write 1,000 words a day, or 2,000 or 5,000. I didn’t know if I could write in public, or if I was a better writer in the morning or the evening. Writing every day really answers all those questions for you. After that first Nano, I knew that outlines would be critical to my success. I knew that on a good day I could write 4,000 words, but that I’m unlikely to be a coffee shop writer.

One of the things I love most about writing is that there is no one way to do it. Each of us can learn from other writers, we can read books about writing, we can attend classes and participate in national writing-based exercises. Yet in the end, we each have to find our own method that is uniquely ours. Nanowrimo is a fantastic opportunity to learn what process works for you and start yourself on the path to being a more productive writer.

See you next month!

NaNoWriMo: The perfect starting place

Dave Heyman First Drafts The Writing Process Your Writing Career No Comments

Like many of the other Fictorians this month, I’ll be talking about Nanowrimo in my post. There’s much to be said on the general subject of pre-writing, but I cannot pass up an opportunity to speak of that magical time in November when the internal editors go on vacation and writers all over the world just let it fly.

Nano was so critical to me in starting my serious writing career that it’s not hyperbole to say that without Nanowrimo I’d likely not be a writer today. Nano provides what I feel is the perfect safe starting point for that writing hobby or career you may have always thought about but never took a serious run at. It certainly was for me, and I can’t imagine where I’d be without it.

In 2013 I was 44 years old, and I had been carrying one story in my head for more than 25 years,  an experience I have found many writers have in common with me. Perhaps you have one too.  I had taken a few shots at actually writing it, but when I decided to give Nanowrimo a try that year I hadn’t written a word in a decade. 1,600 words a day? I didn’t know if I could do a hundred.

As it turned out, I could do the Nano pace fairly easily that year, no outline needed. I was, after all, writing a story I had been thinking about since I was a teenager. I just learned to turn off my internal editor, allowed my writing to be as good or bad as it was on that first pass and went to town.

It’s repeated ad nauseam in the writing community, but that lesson of my first Nano was one of the most important tools I have learned in writing and one I still have to pull out often: JUST WRITE IT. You can fix it later, you can make it better later. You can’t fix an empty page. Get it written, get it done. This is why you revise after all (and revise, and revise – but that’s a blog post for another day).

Using Nano of 2013 I got that first novel off the ground and put my first 50,000 words into it. Once I had done that, it was easy to continue when November was over and by next spring I had a completed novel of 130,000 words. It was a feeling of accomplishment that is hard to describe. Lots of people talk about writing a novel, but I had done it. It was ugly, clumsy and tropey as all hell, but it was there. It existed. 

I’d like to come back to this moment as I think there’s a key lesson to share here, but first I’d like to talk about my remaining Nanowrimo experiences. I have participated in Nanowrimo every year since, and I have ‘won’ every year and I think it is on the strength of outlining. I say this despite the fact my first win was completely pantsed.

I usually start preparing for Nano in September as I decide what I want to use November for. I then spend October on prep. I have a complete scene-by-scene outline done. I have all my characters worked out in terms of back stories and motivations. I know where my big act breaks are, and a decent idea of themes I want to explore.

Once November starts, it’s time to write and not worry about the polish. I write everything this way now, November or not. First drafts are allowed to be rough, the important thing is to get from the beginning to end. I can’t stress this enough: Start, follow through, finish. You can fix later.

Despite the heavy outline though, I try to leave room for creativity during the writing process. Even though I document my characters beforehand, I usually find their voices while writing the project. I also pay close attention to that little voice that tells me to make radical changes to big scenes, outlines be damned. Folks, listen to that voice: it’s almost always right.

So like writing itself it’s still just about showing up and doing the work. 1666 words a day is more for some than for others, but I think it’s an achievable pace for most. If you are pantser, more power to you. I find that I’ve heard more people go in with some kind of outline, and for me the more detailed it is the more successful I’ll likely be.

One last thing I’d like to add before I close, with the caveat that it’s not really on point. If you are like me and you use your first Nanowrimo to finish that big novel you’ve been carrying around for years, when its done – congratulate yourself. Pour yourself your favorite beverage, brag on social media, pat yourself on the back. You’ve done an amazing thing.

Now write something else.

Put it in a drawer and write at least one other story before coming back to it. I have met many writers on this journey who are still working on that first novel years later. Still polishing, still revising. *Years later*. That may be the correct road for some but I am glad it is not the one I took. That first baby of yours will always be there to come back to but what will really level up your skills is *repeating the whole process*.  Of all of my writing decisions, that was one of the smartest for me.

Good luck and I’ll see you in November!