Note to Self (from Melina Marchetta – Part 2)

I saved this little snippet from an old interview with Melina Marchetta, goddess of everything. It's so old that the link to the source doesn't even exist anymore. In the interview, MM talks a little bit about character origins and development. Fun little bit of trivia if you've read and loved Saving Francesca and The Piper's Son, but also just good to keep in mind – that characters can come up out of seemingly nowhere.

"What I also appreciate about Francesca is that it introduced me to Tom Mackee, another favourite. He was included in the first draft as the bully; someone who was not going to be important. But I taught boys that year who began as bullies or were perceived to be and they really surprised me by the end of the year. The developing of Tom as a character got caught up in all of that. I always think he was a bit of a sneaky little bastard hiding in a part of my creative head waiting for the right moment five years later to spring out and demand a novel of his own." – Melina Marchetta

Note to Self (from Junot Diaz) & Thoughts on NaNoWriMo

How is everyone doing with NaNoWriMo so far?? I have personally released myself from the bonds of National Novel Writing Month. Yep – released. No, I'm not "giving up" or "quitting." I'm setting myself FREE!!!

What I've learned is that the hype & excitement over NaNoWriMo is incredible. It's forced me to be excited, once again, about the stories that have been swirling around my head. Like air kick, back flip, hi-YAH excited. It's forced me to write a thousand words, pause, and rethink the story I want to tell. And it's made me more focused about who my characters are and what they become.

What I've learned is that my villain is not the villain, my love interest is not the love interest, the friendship is more important than the romance, and bad decisions are all relative. And I think, I hope, that that's what makes for complex characters and sophisticated, compelling stories.

What I've learned is that writing by hand in a composition book is easier said than done. But it's still perhaps less daunting than facing a white screen on a computer with your cursor blinking. Blinking. Blinking.

What I've learned is that getting words out, in any way you can, is what matters. And that a first draft is destined to be a trainwreck. And that is okay.

But what I've also learned is that the pressure of writing 50,000 words, and being surrounded by people who tweet or blog about their progress ("11k words and I'm only on Day 2!" or "I FINISHED DRAFT 1 OF MY NOVEL IN 4 DAYS" – Cait from Paper Fury, I'm looking at you, you incredible supernatural being), gives me mega anxiety and doesn't motivate me at all, even though I know in my head that this isn't a competition.

So yes, I hereby declare that I am no longer tied to the NaNoWriMo machine.

But to all those who have been chugging along on their novels – good job and good luck. And to those of you who have similarly decided to write your novel on your own terms and your own timeline, I throw a fistful of confetti in your general direction. Huzzah! These words of wisdom belong you to you, too.

"A writer is a writer not because she writes well and easily, because she has amazing talent, or because everything she does is golden. A writer is a writer because, even when there is no hope, even when nothing you do shows any sign of promise, you keep writing anyway." – Junot Diaz

Note to Self (from Melina Marchetta)

Words of wisdom from Melina Marchetta, goddess of everything. Swedish blogger Malin at Nilmas Bokhylla did a short but interesting and insightful Q&A with Melina back in 2012 – it's totally underappreciated so y'all should check it out. Great perspective on developing characters and writing your first draft.

Taylor's love interest was not always going to be a Jonah Griggs type, but somehow this very damaged young man started hanging around in my head. Usually what happens with me is that one character comes first, and that character begins to collect people. They don't all come at once.

Note to Self (from Gayle Forman)

Today's words of wisdom come from Gayle Forman via the Time after Time panel at the 2014 Teen Author Carnival:

What starts a novel is when a character comes alive, becomes real – they are within you but they still surprise you. When you don't have to craft them. They start to come alive on their own.

P.S. I have a draft in my email of bits and bobs that I jotted down from the TAC panel way back in May of 2014. It's mish-mash and may not mean much to anyone else, but I'll still try and post them in the next few weeks in case anyone is interested or happens to be searching for some writing advice. There are some gems in there.