Plotting – Maggie Hemlock Books

NaNoWriMo Last Minute Prep

October 24, 2019 Maggie Hemlock

I’m not participating in Nano this year, but I’ve participated many times in the past. My life and career also revolves around writing (don’t judge me.)

I know a lot of blogs and videos talk about NaNoWriMo prep in the months and weeks right before the start of November, but what if you’re a chronic procrastinator or decided to participate at the last minute? This doesn’t mean you’re doomed. It just means you have to be creative in the way you plan out your month of writing. If you’re already prepared maybe this can act as your checklist and jog your brain of something you’ve forgotten to do.

Plotting isn’t the end of the world

Yes, I’m mostly a plotter. I swear by it and none of my books would be alive today without it. Plotting doesn’t mean you have to write a novel length outline of your story. Here are some quick plotting methods to help you get started. Remember, you can always tweak and change of the details.

The 3 Act Method: Every story has a beginning, middle, and end. These are the components a book cannot exist without. Grab a notebook or open up your favorite word processor and jot down these parts of your book. You can fill in the other details later as you get to it. Having some direction is better than no direction.
Follow the hero’s journey format. There’s a lot of information out there about this so I won’t bore you with it here. If you’ve never heard of it before checkout one of this book.
Write down all your main scenes on note cards and put them in order. I love this method because you can easily change the order of events.

Keep a writer’s journal

This is one of my best kept secrets. Before I started dedicating a notebook to this I had notes and scraps of paper all over the place and even pinned to the wall. Now I keep it all in my notebook. Ideas, character info, whether John Doe is blonde or a redhead. What Kelly ate for breakfast. Whatever you need to remember for later jot down. This is the journal I’m using right now. You can even put your plot in the journal if you wanted to.

Ask a friend to read your work periodically

I know long time writers will cringe at this advice. Stephen King even says to write with the door closed and I do, but in my early days of writing I needed that audience. Also, having someone who is ready to read your work at the end of every week will give you extra motivation to get your words on the blank page.

Decide how to track your word count, progress, and work still needed

I use the free version of PaceMaker.

It doesn’t yell at you for being behind like some do and it allows you to customize your writing plan.

Schedule 5 days in November where you will aim to write 5k.

I know that sounds like a lot of words and for some people it is. I aim for this number almost every writing day. I know it’s not sustainable for everyone, but hear me out on this one.

Five days of 5k words each is 25k words. That’s half your words for the month. Even if you don’t hit those 5k words – you might get a day or two ahead on each scheduled day. Things will pop up that keep you from writing. As someone who writes full time some days I view the world as a series of obstacles between me and the keyboard.

Let me know your favorite way to prep for Nano in the comments.

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HeadDesk A Rant on the Universe and Writing

October 17, 2019 Maggie Hemlock

Yes. Yes, I should be writing. I’m on chapter 20 of Omega Rebellion (AKA Micah and Cody’s book). It’s the 7th in my Hemlock Wolf Pack Saga. I should totally be writing. Well, I am writing, but a blog post and not another chapter of the book.\

It’s time to write the big fight scene of this book. I’m half way through it. This book has about 5 chapters left to write give or take depending on how Micah and Cody behave. It’s almost ready to go to my editor

So why am I not writing?

Today is just blah. Each and everything seems stacked against my productivity. I know. Stop whining and get back to work. I will, but first I’m gonna rant about it. Because this colored line going down the center of my screen is driving me crazy. I’m pretty sure it’s a cord problem, because it happened once before when the cord was loose. This time doing everything imaginable with the cord isn’t making it go away. So, I ordered a new one. With the magic of the internet and Amazon Prime it will be here tomorrow.

In the mean time I have to deal with it. If it’s the monitor and not the cord I’ll have to deal with it until next month. Which is really gonna slow things down. I view the blank page as my canvas. I’m a visual writer meaning I sorta see the words I write, but I see the scene more. The black line of doom (Which is sometimes yellow or green or even blue!) is very fucking distracting. My screen capture won’t pick it up either. So I’m starting to think it’s probably a monitor problem.

*head desks*

Okay. Enough ranting. I have to get back to work or at least try to get some writing done today. Wish me luck. I have a feeling I’m gonna need it.

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I Should Be Working on My Next Novel….

September 27, 2019 Maggie Hemlock

I should be writing. Saving Cinder (Book 2 of my Hemlock Fairy Tales) is on it’s last quarter. I’m on chapter 32/42. I should be writing. The last 5 weeks have been difficult and draining, but still I should be writing. It keeps the bills paid and it keeps me sane.

And…

I took yesterday off to recharge my batteries. I will get some writing done today. Inspiration comes in ebbs and flows, but writers write. It’s what we do. It’s even in our title. So, I will write today. After I procrastinate and caffeinate, I will write.

Finishing any novel is bitter sweet. I grow easily attached to main characters and always miss them, but this isn’t my usual procrastination. Saving Cinder is my first book written mostly in my new apartment. There’s been so much to do and adjust to that it’s been distracting. I’ve written 42k words in the last two weeks so I’m making it work, but distractions are everywhere.

I have a few blogs coming up to answer reader questions from my FB group. I have so much to get done and am already ‘writing’ the 7th book of the Hemlock Wolf Pack Saga .

Lots of readers want to know what happens next and for a while my answer was – well, so do I. I mean, I know loosely how this plot arc/war ends. I know who lives and who dies (Sort of). But as a writer I really don’t know until I’m plotting and writing. With a bit of luck and a bunch of work Saving Cinder will be published around the middle of October.

Since moving into a new house without roommates or anyone else to distract me I’m trying to speed up my publishing schedule. I always said I wanted to write more and would if I had more time. Now, I just have to find the schedule that works for me now that I live alone.

I should be writing so….

I better get to it.

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I’m Bad at Taking Time Off: Confessions of a Workaholic

August 13, 2019August 13, 2019 Maggie Hemlock

I don’t identify as the classic type-A workaholic/perfectionist personality, but I’m a self professed workaholic. In school, I was the kid who actually used study hall to do homework. I loved the proficiency and having my afternoons and weekends free.

This habit didn’t always carry into my adult life. Before I started freelancing (and eventually transitioned into indie publishing) I’d put in just enough effort at jobs not to be noticed in good or bad light.

Now, I wake up on a morning I was planning to sleep in with a thunderstorm raging outside. I’m annoyed with mother nature and sit down at the computer to work. Then it hits me I finished the first draft of Claiming the Shaman yesterday. It’s now off with my editor for the first rounds of edits. I planned to take today and tomorrow off before starting another book or to work on the cover of the one I just finished. Sitting down this morning annoyed and ready to work I realized that somehow over the last nine years of being a a professional writer first in freelance and then in indie publishing I’ve become a tried and true workaholic. (See this blog as proof. I needed to write something this morning or my routine would be broken. Not working makes me antsy.)

I started freelance (and some ghostwriting) writing when I was 21. A weird set of circumstances brought me to it at a time of need. (That’s a story for another blog.) Then, I got addicted. I mean, I always wrote or had a story running in my head for as long as I can remember. In high school, I thought I’d eventually publish if I could. That was back before indie publishing was what it is now. But life went on and eventually I wrote less and less until I started freelancing.

Eventually, after years of freelancing it wasn’t enough to write what others wanted me to write. No, I needed to tell my stories. I’ve written under a few different pen names over the years until I found a genre I really loved and didn’t get bored of. I’m a Gemini so bored is my number one enemy. Is that why I’m a workaholic? Maybe. Likely at least partially.

Now, almost everyday I write. I have to. It’s like breathing. In fact, it was my lack of writing over the fall/winter of 2018 that let me know something was indeed wrong with my health. I was always too tired to write. Friends told me it was burnout. Others said I was depressed. They were all wrong, but it wasn’t until my random exhaustion kept me away from the keyboard that I told my doctor about it. I figured with my luck I was probably dying. Morbid? Nah. Practical. Or so I thought. Mostly, I need to quit smoking (something I”m still struggling with) and my vitamin D was super low. I should have guessed given the symptoms, but there was a reason I became a writer and not a doctor.

Recently, I took my last medical dose of vitamin D. I’m feeling better than ever even if I’m still smoking about a pack a week when people piss me off. Why didn’t I go to the doctor sooner? Well, two reasons really. Okay, three: The first, the circumstances that led me to freelancing also left me with a distrust of most doctors. Two: I have an over active imagination. I was sure he was going to tell me I was dying. I had some sort of rare disease eating away at me. Probably related to smoking. The third: I needed to work. I didn’t want to take the time off my schedule to call and make an appointment. Then have to keep the appointment and take a morning off. Then take another morning off for blood work results and a follow up. I probably lost more time by not calling the doctor, but hindsight, you know. Eventually, I did, but not until writing 1k words a day was a problem for me. Yeah, that’s the reason I thought I was dying. Moral of the story is get your vitamin D checked before you need to. lol

Now, I’m starting a daily vitamin and made a few lifestyle changes to assure that’s not going to happen again. But it also made me realize I’m a workaholic. I write most days of the week. I am for 3k+ on those days now that I’m back to myself. I usually end up somewhere between 4.5-6k words a day. I take Tuesdays off for errands, but usually squeeze in some work anyway.

Now, with all of that said: I don’t hate my job. I love what I do. I love sitting down at the keyboard and pouring my heart out into a story. Sure, some days are harder than others. Some scenes more belligerent than others. But at the end of the day, I want to write. I want to write more than I want to play video games or have that extra time to do whatever it is people want me to do. The thing is I probably work about 4-5 hours most days. Even if I worked everyday I’d be working less than a traditional full time position. So, when people tell me I work too much I always roll my eyes. Yes, I’m a workaholic, because I don’t know how to start the day by doing nothing. No, I’m not a workaholic because I work too much.

Now, if you’ll excuse me. I’ll be off writing a few more blogs to schedule so my brain believes I squeezed in a decent word count.

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Writing Help: A plot is a road map (With coffee spilled over some parts.)

August 8, 2019 Maggie Hemlock

Every time Camp NaNo or NaNoWriMo rolls around I hear the pantser vs. plotter debate. I’m mostly a plotter. I’d never finish a novel without a plot. So, maybe I’m a full blown plotter. Most of my friends are pantsers. I’ve watched how others plot their books and they start right from chapter one. I’m more middle of the road than that, but I couldn’t live without some sort of a plot to work from.

Usually, I’ve bounced the story around my brain for quite some time before I ever sit down to write. I’ve zoned out while doing chores around the house or stayed awake playing and replaying scenes in my head tweaking small parts. Then it’s time to sit down and write. At this point I’ll know my main characters and their major conflict. I’ll also know the ending. Then I just need to fill in the gaps.

To start this process I write the first few chapters of the book. This helps me get a grip on my characters and how their personalities will change my ideas. I know some people say we control our characters and others say they lead themselves. Once again, I’m middle of the road. I find that if I start by letting the words flow and the characters just do their own thing in the first few chapters the rest of the book is easier.

After I get to a point where I feel comfortable with them and what the story should be I plot. This point can vary drastically. Sometimes it’s at chapter 4 and sometimes it’s at chapter 12. As a general rule it happens after the true-mates meet in person and respond. I usually know exactly how my guys meet up before I ever write a word of the story.

Now with all of that said I do recommend plotting in one form or another to anyone struggling with writing. It’s a road map. Sometimes knowing what happens takes the stress out of writing. Recently, a very creative and ambitious aspiring writer friend of mine told me having a plot stresses her out, because she feels stuck to it. But not having a plot makes it hard to write too. Yes, she was having one of those days we all know so well.

Yesterday, I killed two characters off. Their deaths weren’t plotted. I was writing a battle scene for the 6th book of my Hemlock Wolf Pack Saga . It changed some other things for the book. Today, I decided not to kill them. Yes, I resurrected them, because I might need one of them for a future book. Other changes stuck, albeit, brought about in other ways now. I still have the draft where they died. I learned a long time ago when a huge unplanned thing happened to save two copies. One for prosperity and one for working on. Later, once my caffeine kicks, I need to rewrite the last third of my plot. I’m okay with that. The changes make the story more exciting and suspenseful.

For me a plot is a roadmap with coffee spilled on it. There’s plenty of room for detours and the stain creates new little interesting places to visit. I haven’t written a single book where I haven’t tweaked my plot at some point. So, the moral of the story is: Don’t be afraid of plots. Unlike characters you’re fully in control of them. If it needs changed – change it!

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Camp NaNoWriMo Day 10 Recap: Am I pantsing this book??

April 11, 2019 Maggie Hemlock

This morning I woke up feeling great! Which was a good thing since we’re a third of the way through camp! Though, as I was writing today an odd thought occurred to me. I’ve trashed two plots so far for this novel! The beginning is still coherent and it’s still moving towards the same ending. I knew the ending since before I started writing the book, but the middle has evolved more than any book I’ve written before. For most of my life, I’ve been a hardcore plotter. Knowing what I was going to write the next day and the day after was what kept me going. Now, I know what I’m writing tomorrow. I know what happens in the next few chapters. (Inside my head at least) but I don’t have a plot outlined. Please don’t take my plotter’s membership card away! Lol

In some ways, this has been more fun than usual. I’m not saying I’m converted to pantsing forever, but this book I might be half-pantsing. I feel like I’ve written more in a shorter amount of time since taking the stress of an outline out of the picture. Maybe it changed when I quit smoking. I’m just 3 days shy of 3 months quit now. Maybe it’s unfolding this way, because I didn’t decide for certain I was participating in camp until the last minute (so to speak.)

Whatever’s happening, I’m enjoying it.

What I accomplished today:

Today I fleshed out chapters 7-9 and wrote chapter 10. It’s an exciting part of the story that I can’t wait for you guys to read.

Snags Along the Way:

I really didn’t hit any snags today. It was a nice normal boring (around the house not in my book) writing day. Which, of course, are my favorite sort of writing days!

How today went:

Starting Word Count: 17,329

Total Words Written: 2,745

Ending Word Count: 20,074

After thoughts:

I’m almost 4k ahead of schedule! Which is freaking awesome! But I’ve reworked my schedule to take weekends off. I’m bad at taking vacations from work. They usually last two or three days and I’m back to work. Maybe, I can start taking off days for the sake of taking them off instead of just for errands or sick days.

I’m really excited to write chapter 11 tomorrow. It’s a very unique chapter the likes of which haven’t been seen in one of my books yet. Y’all can’t see my devil horns, but they’re there. I swear! Lol

Goals for Tomorrow:

I’m just aiming for about 1.2k words tomorrow and I hope to finish chapter 11 tomorrow. I spent this afternoon cross checking characters to make sure I had all my details ready for tomorrow.