{"id":745,"date":"2024-02-06T16:26:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T00:26:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/?p=745"},"modified":"2024-02-06T16:26:55","modified_gmt":"2024-02-07T00:26:55","slug":"docx-file-0-words-never-finished","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/2024\/02\/06\/docx-file-0-words-never-finished\/","title":{"rendered":"Docx File, 0 Words, Never Finished"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Julia Dovey, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ufv.ca\/english\/writer-in-residence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">UFV Writer-in-Residence<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The most common question I get from students and writers in general is \u201cwhat\u2019s your advice for writers just starting a book?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/files\/2024\/02\/julia-dovey-300x200-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-746\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/files\/2024\/02\/julia-dovey-300x200-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/files\/2024\/02\/julia-dovey-300x200-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/files\/2024\/02\/julia-dovey-300x200-1-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/files\/2024\/02\/julia-dovey-300x200-1-200x133.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The most common question I <em>should <\/em>get is \u201cis it pronounced Dovey or Dovey?\u201d But it isn\u2019t, because to be fair, the name looks pretty cut and dry. Nonetheless, I shall clear it up right now. It\u2019s pronounced <em>Dovey<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>But how to start a book, yes, that\u2019s the kicker. Many a new writer sit at their computer, slam a cup of tea down next to the keyboard, and commence a three-hour staring contest with the blinking line. Then they close that empty document and save it for another day.<\/p>\n<p>A book won\u2019t get written that way, I\u2019m telling you right now.<\/p>\n<p>Okay, I can hear the multitudes screaming. Yes, it\u2019s <em>possible. <\/em>In the same way it\u2019s <em>possible <\/em>someone can do a backflip on the first try. But a gymnastics coach is not going to count on that, and I\u2019m considering myself your temporary writing coach. Sitting down at a computer with absolutely nothing to start with and expecting a masterpiece to bloom like mould in the crisper drawer is not going to help your writing confidence, and it\u2019s setting you up to fail. You\u2019ll think you\u2019ve got writer\u2019s block, but you don\u2019t, I promise you. All it takes is a little organizing.<\/p>\n<p>And that\u2019s where the question comes in. <em>How do you get ideas? <\/em><\/p>\n<p>See, that\u2019s a tricky one. Because people\u2019s brains are different, bla bla. But I will say that if you\u2019re looking to become a novelist who works to a deadline, you cannot afford the luxury of waiting for the most brilliant idea to hit you out of nowhere. Sometimes you have to compromise with a less brilliant idea, and build it up. Sometimes you have to create an idea from scratch.<\/p>\n<p>Here are my 10 Tips on How to Get Ideas and Write a Novel<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Train yourself to spot potential novel building blocks in real life (plots, settings, etc.)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There\u2019s some practice to this, but eventually you\u2019re going to start spotting the plots in everyday life. For me, I keep my eye open for good, interesting, quirky settings, characters, professions, etc. Things that lend themselves easily to a plot. For example, the other day I spotted a community garden and thought, \u201cHm, that\u2019s a good potential setting for a romance book.\u201d Boom, I\u2019ve now got myself a setting, and suddenly the plot potentials will follow.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Use crisis as opportunity <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The best thing about being a writer is that you can utilize misery. I\u2019m serious; sometimes the only consoling thought when I\u2019m going through something is \u201cMan, this\u2019ll be great to write about later.\u201d A recent example: yesterday I was peeling a yam with hunger-induced gusto and peeled off half my fingernail. Whilst bandaging up the massacre (still starving, still needing to finish making my dinner, rage-filled and frothing) I realized that the finger I\u2019d peeled was my marriage finger. And I thought, \u201cHm! That\u2019s some kind of symbol. I shall use it in a book some day.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>For the love of Pete, write the idea down<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>No, you won\u2019t remember it. Especially if you had the idea at three in the morning. Get your phone, get a receipt and pen, and write the idea down. I\u2019ve used a pencil and my wall before. Half my books\u2019 plots utilized ideas I\u2019d have forgotten had I not written them down.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Buckle down and figure out a plot using a beat sheet<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There\u2019s the whole \u201cgardener vs architect\u201d debate. However, if you\u2019ve never written a book before and suffer chronic writer\u2019s block, my guess is that figuring out a general plot before writing is going to help you. Look up <a href=\"https:\/\/jamigold.com\/for-writers\/worksheets-for-writers\/\">Jami Gold\u2019s beat sheets<\/a> (or the \u201cSave The Cat\u201d one), download the Excel file, and beat it out. Learn the general structure of a standard, expected, western plot (three-act structure). You don\u2019t have to use every idea, and you can abandon the whole thing later \u2013 this is simply to make sure you\u2019ve got enough plot to reach an ending.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Realize that a concept is not a plot<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I\u2019ve read and listened to a lot of story ideas. And a lot of the time, what people have given me is an excellent <em>concept. <\/em>A really neat idea\u2026but not a plot. It\u2019s the \u201cIn my world, people are born with numbers on their skin that count down to when you\u2019ll die\u201d kind of thing. Yes, cool idea \u2013 not a plot. A plot would be a specific story told <em>within <\/em>this concept, with an inciting incident (something that happens to challenge the norm established at the story\u2019s beginning). \u201cIn this world where a number will appear on your skin telling you when you\u2019ll die, Hannah\u2019s number was one of the lowest amongst her friends. One day, her father \u2013 a head researcher at this facility \u2013 goes missing, and soon after her number starts changing every day. Hannah embarks on a journey to find her father, and dismantle what she learns is a government project attempting to cull the population. Plus, here\u2019s a b-plot love story, and another b-plot, etc. etc.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Start small<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Yes, your idea for an epic fantasy three-part series is cool. Yes, you might be able to pull it off. Yes, I\u2019ll still suggest starting smaller, if you\u2019ve never written a book before. (Yes, you can ignore this advice if you really, really want to. In fact, if it helps, write your three-part series purely to spite me.)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Don\u2019t \u201csave\u201d your best ideas for later<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Your brain is not a finite resource. You may think that idea you\u2019ve had saved up for years must wait until you\u2019re a good enough writer to write it, but it\u2019s simply not true. Your brain is growing, and another great idea will come \u2013 especially the more you write and understand plot. In fact, you may even lose interest in that concept a year from now, or it may simply not work anymore. Ideas that I had \u201csaved\u201d are now useless, because the plots hinge on outdated technology or concepts. Or, God forbid, someone else writes a book or movie that uses that idea. Trust me, please; you will have other ideas. Use the ones you like now.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Understand: Writers write. Authors finish. <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I\u2019m not joking, or being a jerk. This seems obvious, but it\u2019s just something you must tell yourself. Every single author (of novels) published out there has finished at least one book. You have to do it, guys. You have to reach that ending, if only to <em>practice writing endings. <\/em>If you don\u2019t, you\u2019ll be a writer who\u2019s <em>excellent<\/em>\u2026at writing beginnings. I remember one time recording a song with a friend, and I kept restarting when I messed up. My friend forced me to continue playing through the mistake, because if I kept restarting, I\u2019d never practice the other half of the song.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Set yourself a deadline<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I write to deadline. If a book is due in a year, I\u2019ll finish it eleven months from now. If it\u2019s due in three weeks, it will be done on day twenty. I have written books without a deadline, yes. Two. Over fourteen years. Over the last three years, with deadlines, I\u2019ve written three. Set yourself a deadline, but a <em>true <\/em>deadline, with consequences. A less-dire deadline would be to announce your plan in public \u2013 to friends, on social media, etc. A very expensive deadline would be to buy a ticket to a writer\u2019s conference and plan on pitching a book to the agents and publishers there.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Foutlook.office.com%2Fbookwithme%2Fuser%2Fa5bf60d8081a48a19a733aa857279431%40ufv.ca%2Fmeetingtype%2FSVRwCe7HMUGxuT6WGxi68g2%3Fanonymous%26ep%3DmCardFromTile&amp;data=05%7C02%7CHardeep.Kaur%40ufv.ca%7Ca8f45ff4c27447af3e1208dc0128fee3%7Ca3d10b1dc22648f9a6db976df918187e%7C1%7C0%7C638386522783563381%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=DKMW6iZN3VXGV2HI2qqoFXPaivje35MoGOconqDKOrk%3D&amp;reserved=0\"><strong>Book a consultation<\/strong><\/a><strong> with a Writer-in-Residence<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Come. Have a coffee. Use my whiteboard. Let\u2019s chat.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Julia Dovey, UFV Writer-in-Residence &nbsp; The most common question I get from students and writers in general is \u201cwhat\u2019s your advice for writers just starting a book?\u201d The most common question I should get is \u201cis it pronounced Dovey or Dovey?\u201d But it isn\u2019t, because to be fair, the name looks pretty cut and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=745"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":747,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/745\/revisions\/747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=745"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=745"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ufv.ca\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=745"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}