2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love
You're not just writing a story anymore. You are crafting an experience that you are going to share with each person who picks up your book. It is your job to make sure your story decisions and world work not just within the context of the novel, but within the mind of the reader. Your job to make sure your characters are engrossing, not just
... See moreRachel Aaron • 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love
Specifically, I ask that my scenes do three things: Advance the story Reveal new information Pull the reader forward
Rachel Aaron • 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love
Act I, put your characters in a tree. Act II, light the tree on fire. Act III, get your characters out of the tree.
Rachel Aaron • 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love
You’re weaving all these events, places, and people together to make the rope of your story. Each bit is its own unique line that has a beginning and an end, but all of them get twisted together into the smooth whole of the novel. If you’ve done this bit right, then by the time you’re ready to start writing you’ll have a cast of agency-filled
... See moreRachel Aaron • 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love
This ability to make decisions that change the direction of the plot is called character agency, and it is vital.
Rachel Aaron • 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love
Every day, while I was writing out my description of what I was going to write for the knowledge component of the triangle, I would play the scene through in my mind and try to get excited about it. I'd look for all the cool little hooks, the parts that interested me most, and focus on those since they were obviously what made the scene cool. If I
... See moreRachel Aaron • 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love
The days when I broke 10k were the days when I was writing scenes I'd been dying to write since I planned the book.
Rachel Aaron • 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love
So, I started keeping records. Every day I sat down to write, I would note the time I started, the time I stopped, how many words I wrote, and where I was writing on a spreadsheet
Rachel Aaron • 2k to 10k: Writing Faster, Writing Better, and Writing More of What You Love
Every writing session after this realization, I dedicated five minutes (sometimes more, never less) and wrote out a quick description of what I was going to write that day.