Things I've learned from writing my first novel

Great stuff! I agree with much of it (Except I'm a laptop person). But here's one thing I learned AFTER writing my first book -- don't go immediately into the editing phase. Put it aside for a month (I like 6 weeks) and don't look at it even once. Do some short stories, look back over files of half-finished stuff and see if there's anything valuable there, ponder, pick your hangnails, organize your pens..leave it alone to fester.
Every book I've done since has benefited from leaving it alone. You come back to it as if it's brand-new material. You have the eye of a reader, not as a writer.
Just MHO, everyone has their own routine. Good luck and congrats!

One for me: in bed at night is the best place for working out plot problems.

I like to stock up on loads and loads of caffeine! It keeps my brain energized for the length of time I'm writing (even though it has a "crash" effect later, and isn't good for you in other ways, but I couldn't get through a morning session without it). I just try to compensate by not consumming so much later.

A well-known writer I met last year says every novelist should have at least one nasty habit (I think his was smoking. He also said, in fact, that all writers should smoke. I don't agree with this; I've never been a smoker and it hasn't hurt me in the least. But the numerous sodas I go through during a session is proof positive of his "bad habit" theory, since I'm relying on the caffeine rush as a crutch just as much as he relies on his nicotine rush).

I like to drink beer when writing but usually limit this practice only to weekends or when doing light editing. It clouds my brain too much for actual, intense productivity, but to each his own.

Music is a must...TV and Internet, absolutely not (unless I'm taking a break to research something).

I've found with a laptop that I do much better writing with the tv off, the phone next to me (so I don't have to get up for emergency calls from sons school), and a full belly. I have bad headaches when I do not eat so it's best to have a lunch or snack in me to write.

I found that the tv is my biggest distraction, right along with the internet in second.

I did tons of research for my novel so I had to look up alot...after the look up, I check forums, read emails, answer messages...lol...so it is bad.

Jo Scott said:

I found that the tv is my biggest distraction, right along with the internet in second.

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Yep, the internet is insidious, especially this forum. I write on a laptop that doesn't have an internet connection, and keep it in a different room to the one that does.

Originally Posted by Maddwriter
10. Saying to yourself, "I'll just play one game of Madden 2006 as a break then I'll come back refreshed" never happens. I'll go and spend an hour taking a mental break that somehow evolves into me not working on it again that day. That's where #1 on this list came from.

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I'm a video game addict so I know the feeling. I've gotten better over the years, but every once and a while a game comes out for my Xbox 360 and my novel takes a slight hit. I still work on it, but if I come to a rough spot I'm more likely to put down my laptop and pick up a controller.

First draft, don't stop until I'm done. then re-write and re-write with the door closed, the tv and radio off, and when I get stuck, go to another quiet room and ruminate until what I need comes to me, and then get back to the office, close the door, and write some more.

Love your observations, Adam. I agree with everything except I create better with a computer, probably because I'm constantly erasing. But knowing and doing are two different things, so I'm working on the doing.

still working on my first novel ever but I think for me the best writing I do is when I take my laptop somewhere other than the house (mainly why I have a laptop). If I am at home I will watch tv or clean the house. If I take my laptop and sit outside or even go to the local park or library I will get more done.

I am lucky that my day job allows me about an hour or so of writing per day without problems.

WIP word count is 10,000 so far but I have most of my research done and ready to plow forward. Hey, it's a start!

Since I have written more than one novel you will have to bear with my accumulated experiences across all of them because I am always learning new and better ways to do things that suit me best.

I have to have a tall bottle of cold water. That must be my bad habit. Some music playing does wonders for tuning out the house noises. If my husband is playing video games it is near impossible to concentrate as I want to play too so I try and write in the morning during the week when the house is reasonably quiet.

The kids are my biggest distraction and right after that is noise I can't control, and then the internet. It's usually when I am procrastinanting because I don't have my muse revved up. None of the outside things can help more than a quiet room with some instrumental music playing.

If I get stuck, talking to my sister about the story (who is also a writer) and plotting on a notebook, scribbling ideas (as they are barely legible) are what get me through the stuck points.

Best way I have found to write is quiet house, no one needing me, great music, and that tall bottle of cold water. If I have those things, I can write for quite some time. If I can't have that quiet time and someone needs me a lot, I have to turn up that music a little bit more as it helps me focus faster.

I can't look back over what I have written while I am writing the first draft, otherwise it stalls me out. The only time I read back is to refresh my memory if I was forced out of it.

One of my most useful tools is keeping names and places on the bottom of my document so I can easily glance back without having to search my document for something simple.

The worst mistakes I make in writing is when I have a lag in thought, I start writing it one way and then finish it another as my brain speeds through and spits out the thoughts. It usually ends up being something like this: "Alan did not slipped out the door." Then trying to analyze what I was trying to say there is always fun.

After my first draft and my first harsh critique, made me realize how much work as a writer I needed. I am now on my fifth novel and I look back and see how far I have evolved, it makes me smile, until I re-read the rough draft and see how much I still need to go.

It took nearly four novels to learn how to self edit. I am not nearly as proficient as I wish to be, but I am much better than I ever was.

I have discovered the joys of organic outlining and use them all the time now. Once I got over the image of the trudgery of doing them in school and went to the organic more flexable form, I learned to love outlining. They are easy to adapt and help lay down a clear plan. They have doubled my writing output and the rough drafts come out much cleaner and cohesive than before while lacking that mechanic feel that I was so afraid of gaining.

Through script writing and sending out a hundred query letters I have learned how to write a synopsis, a logline, a tagline, a hook, and a query letter. All of which gets much easier the more you do it.

Rejection only hurts the first few times, after that, it becomes standard operating proceedure.

I have discovered that when a company responds, "We enjoyed it/loved it/were intrigued by it...but...it's not what we are looking for. You thank them for their time and ask what they are looking for. It is very possible you have just the thing they were looking for, it just isn't what you submitted. And if they truly enjoyed what you wrote, they will be happy to tell you what they want, because they can recognize writing they like, they just have a different story in mind.

Another thing I have learned is NEVER query before it is ready to be read. There's nothing worse than someone asking for a read and not having it in polished condition. No point in cutting off a possible contract simply because you were impatient.

If you are waiting for something, work on something else. If you focus on what you are waiting for, it will take forever and that impatience will show up in your responses to them. Give them time, a lot of time.

E-query can take up to 6 weeks or even 6 months! Letter query standard waiting is between 6 months and a year! The wheels turn slow but they do turn!

And the BIC method really works, it chases away procrastination and forces you to work on your project. I can't set a time unfortunately due to the unpredictability of young children, but for those of you who can, do it!

And last, the more projects you have going, the longer it will take you to finish each one. In one year I wrote over 250,000 words and didn't finish a single novel, I half finished 5. None of them are finished yet, I am still plowing through them, but seriously, do yourself a favor and keep more focused than that if you want to hit The End faster than that. The more I write, the more focused I become, but it never fails that outside things bring new projects to the front faster than I wanted them there. So even in your focus be adaptable, it will help out in the long run.