Writing as a group project

As I have told you about the literature project I joined, writing is bound to happen.

Then how do you create texts as a group?

There's the proverb that too many cooks spoil the broth. But it doesn't necessarily have to be like this. You can write as a team if everybody knows their part and acts accordingly.

The easiest way to write together is the RPG approach to split and interact; this means every participating author chooses characters they want to write and writes only these characters. Now they let the characters meet, talk and act. Soon a rough first draft will spring into creation as every author only has to react to what another wrote in the previous paragraph. The text will be pretty dynamic and dialogue-heavy, but this is a nice by-product.

This setting works best for groups of two to four people, so there won't be confusions when one's turn to write is. There will be breaks when only a few characters are present, but this gives the others time to reread what has been done by now.
Generally, four is a good group size. And while text creation happens relatively quickly, editing is also very important. The first draft needs to be polished until it can be published. This process can be split also: this time the authors take turns to comment and edit what they have so far.

Like this writing as a team is not as hard as it might seem. And the result is a consensus with which everyone is satisfied.

Now what?

As the new year has started you might either be exhausted from all these holidays or energized with good intentions.

Either way, after completing NaNoWriMo in November your work isn't done yet. You may have a first draft but don't make the mistake to publish it as is. Please, don't! A draft is a draft, and it needs serious polishing to become the shining gem it is supposed to be.

January is the perfect time to do this polishing as it's often ugly outside and you usually feel both drained of creativity and motivated to start the year fresh.
You probably haven't touched your work in about a month. So when you open the document again you likely will be surprised what you have achieved to write in November. You will see your story with a fresh set of eyes.
Now read, and read carefully.
As you go, catch all those typos and puctuation errors, reword where necessary, cut too long paragraphs or add to them where they are lacking. You will see, there is much to do.

Be critical, but don't butcher your story.

Get help when you're stuck or story blind. You will want to introduce your draft to your betas soon. Let their comments help you edit. Don't take their criticism too much to heart, but learn from them, accept and adapt. Remember: they want to help you, not harm you.
And by the end of it you will have an improved new draft.

Writing Exercise 051

This is my last writing exercise in November. It had been an eventful and exciting month full of writing, and thus my triple drabble is just about that. :)

2016/11/28 – NaNoWriMo 2016 (triple drabble)

Everything began with November 1^st; no, even before that ideas were forming, plotbunnies were jumping around and waiting to be released. This year was a year of beginnings, of progress and commitment. And NaNoWriMo was just the icing on the cake: fifty thousand words, thirty days, one goal – ready, set, go!

For a while the world passed me by and it was just me and my words. And a promise. Creativity blossomed, chapters sprang into creation, page by page, word by word, letter by letter. Characters came to life, inhabited my dear Neverbeen Universe and invited to come along on their wondrous adventures.

The write ins fuelled my motivation, propelled my wordcount forward. I made new acquaintances, found writing buddies to push through the hardest parts and cheer them on in turn. I truly enjoyed the excited and creative atmosphere and the notion of finding likened minds close to home.

The Dead Pete Society was crowded with bubbling creative heads; sprint after sprint we incited each other's enthusiasm. But I missed them. Separated by oceans, our hearts are reaching out to one another.

November 8^th, and I won, but I wasn't done yet. My novel wasn't finished, so I continued. Two days later the last word was written; 60,894 words crammed into 47 chapters, 60,894 words of ambition and accomplishment, 60,894 words… and I did it!

I celebrated that day.

But I didn't want NaNoWriMo to be over so soon. So I thought of what to do. Then I remembered my other works needed translation, too. Therefore I resumed writing, I continued the fun and the flow and the fantastic feelings. Days swept by, hours ticking beneath the clicking staccato of typing. Before I knew it the end of November is here.

Let's celebrate the finale of an awesome month!

I did it!

So far NaNoWriMo has been a blast to me. :D
I've been to two write ins and it was so much fun and motivated writing, that it propelled me forward.
I hit the 50k words on November 8th, and I finished translating my novel 'Ravenous Adventures' on November 10th with a wordcount of 60,894. Wow. That was fast, don't you think? :o
But I decided the story wasn't over until the fat lady sung, and so started translating my second short story collection 'More Untold Stories of Neverbeen Universe' and continued NaNo.
In the meantime I'll lay 'Ravenous Adventures' in the hands of my trusty betas and hope they'll like what they read. By the way, I'm looking for more betas, for both the English and the German edition. So if you're interested, tell me. :)

Writers Gotta Write

It's still early October but I'm already fired up for NaNoWriMo. :)

Ravenous Adventures is still in editing mode, but this November I'll translate it. In fact, I wanted to get a bit of a headstart and as my writing buddies from the Dead Pete Society already started their projects I couldn't wait either. It's so exciting when everyone is in writing mood and we cheer each other on. :D

This year is my first time participating in NaNoWriMo, so I'm a bit nervous. Still I'm awfully looking forward to November. Yesterday in preparation for NaNo I watched a webinar recommended on the NaNo page, and it was pretty interesting. I also plan to attend a kick off meeting in Essen on 1st of November, where I get to meet other Wrimos (authors participating in NaNoWriMo). I hope we'll have a great time writing together, and maybe we'll even forge a group that meets up regularly. As the Dead Pete Society members live all around the globe, I'm looking forward to meet local writers, too. :D

Anyhow, I've started writing the German translation of Ravenous Adventures and I'm pretty excited about it. But while I set out to write I ponder my tools.
Usually I use Libre Office, which is just a basic, open source writing program. It is sufficient for my needs, alright. But I wonder...

Some of my writing buddies use Scrivener. There is a trial version for Wrimos, and I'm oogling it.
But on the other hand, someone in the forums of my home region on the NaNo page recommended Papyrus. Which seems just as good to me. I'm not decided yet and I don't want to experiment during NaNo when I need to concentrate on writing.
I might just download both trial versions at the end of October an see what I like better, then get set for November. Or I end up sticking with Libre Office. I don't know yet.

Do you have experience with either of these programs?
Which one would you choose and why?

Please, let me know. :o
Until then I'll keep writing, writing... because writers gotta write. ;)

Ready, Set-... Go?

Imagine you have written something, and you think it's pretty neat. :D
What is the next step you take?


Right, you think again.
Because now is where the real work on your draft starts. You will want your writing at your best, won't you? And only the sky is the limit. Therefore there are a few steps you have to take now before you can publish your work; for this is where you polish and polish and polish the raw gem you created until it's so shiny it annoys you.


First you edit yourself; so read your story again. Probably you'll be able to catch some typos and other errors you've missed when writing. This process takes a good eye and patience because spellcheck doesn't get all the mistakes you might have made.


Then you reach out for well meaning beta readers; your friends, your family, your colleagues - whoever is willing to read what your brain spewed out. While they are reading your work for coherency, comprehension and whatever mistakes you have missed during your first round of editing (because there will be some left) you have the time to start over with step one again.
This might sound tedious, which it is, but you will see you will find other things you have overlooked the first time.


Once these beta readers return their results, take a closer look at their comments. What did they find good, what did they find confusing? What are their impressions and associations? Are there plotholes? Don't feel beaten down or ignore them so easily. Because they want to help you; they are your friends and family.


Based on their find you can now improve your work. Make amends where necessary or decide on a rewrite alltogether depending on the gravity of what needs to be done. This decision might be hard, but it'll be worth it. Make our story shine!


Now the process starts over again, this time with beta readers and editors you're not personally close - ideally they are people who also write; they won't spare your feelings or gloze over then. Which is a good thing. You'll get honest responses, and good input. On which you can again base your amends when they are done.


In the meantime you let your story sit for a while; do something completely different, tend to other WIPs or take a break from writing or whatever. The goal is to forget about what you have written there, so you can start fresh when you resume editing one or two months later. Because then you will see your story with different eyes.


But the opera isn't over until the fat lady sings.
Editing is repetitive and takes a lot of time. By the end of it you will have read and edited your story so often you might get fed up with it. It might be frustrating and nerve wrecking, but don't loose heart. Finally you will have your manuscript ready for publishing - regardless of which way you want to go about it, traditionally or DIY.


And don't forget about those who helped and supported you in the process; because they also made your book possible. Maybe a small note in your acknowledgements will be enough? ;)