Today’s letter focuses on what to do when you approach a stumbling block in your writing + a brief overview of the process from idea to finding an agent. This is a 10-minute read.
Hello and Salam alaykum (peace be upon you) peeps 👋🏾,
I hope you’ve had a great week! Apologies for missing last week, but PMS really came to fight me. I was tempted to write through the pain and discomfort, but I decided to practise a lesson I’ve been telling myself in the past few weeks: never be afraid to pivot or make changes.
This also comes through in my writing, particularly in the drafting process. Sometimes, you begin a story with a vision in mind, you’re sailing through, the words are flowing, and then all of a sudden you come to a halt. The words stop coming as easily, and whatever you write seems to not feel right for the story you’re trying to tell. Forcing it doesn’t work or if you manage to, the story no longer reads true. Or you stall, not wanting to face the fact that you might need to start over, veer from the plan you set yourself or scrap all that you’ve written.
In moments like these, I’ve come to learn that no written word is wasted. They tend to teach you a thing or two, albeit a small lesson. The obvious one is: if you hadn’t written all those words, you may never have realised the story wouldn’t work the way you envisioned. Sometimes, the words give you better insight into the story world and your characters, so that when you’re starting over, it’s not entirely from a clean slate. You know your character better, you have a better understanding of the story, and you just might craft a richer story for this.
This stumbling block might also be an alert that something is missing. Perhaps you need to research the character more, or what you think your character “needs” isn’t a strong enough motivator to move the story forward.
I haven’t written much in the past two weeks because I hit a block, and I’m currently back at the drawing board to figure out what’s blocking me. I rewatched one of my favourite resources on the basics of a story with a practical example. The next step for me would be to revisit the current plot and use what I learn from this to pivot.
Sometimes it helps to talk my story struggles out with someone, and this is why I’m super keen on building and expanding this community.
On that note, kindly spare ten minutes of your time to complete this form.
It’s to create a database that allows me to figure out the next best step to take to ensure everyone gets what they need out of the community.
🗳From Idea to First Draft to Querying: What does it all entail?
I’ve had several questions about publishing, finding an agent, what is required etc. I wanted to share a quick intro to this, and as the weeks go on, we can explore each step in depth. Feel free to send me any questions you have!
So, how does it work?
Generally, you have a story idea that you spend a long time working on until you have a complete manuscript. BUT you don’t send it to an agent just yet. Agents are super busy and get an influx of submissions daily, so you need to ensure you’re putting your best foot forward so that your work stands out from the pile.
How do you approach this then?
The moment you write “The End”, put your manuscript away for a couple of weeks, celebrate and focus on something else. Some people also advise sending it to a few people to read and ask them for feedback. There are feedback question templates online to help if you’re unsure about the kind of feedback you need.
Again, not to sound like a broken record, but kindly spare some time to complete this form, as this is one of the ways in which we can show up for one another in this community.
Once your break is over, pick it back up and read it like you’d read someone else’s novel, with a pen and paper to hand. Don’t rush to correct spelling errors, grammar etc. Focus on the story itself. Make note of areas you find yourself falling asleep or areas you find too fast or character contradictions. Basically, write down anything which stands out to you.
When I read first draft, I tend to print it out in a different font (to reduce familiarity) so I can write in the margins. Then I work on it using one of the very many plot devices out there. My go-to is usually Save the Cat or Michael Hauge’s Plot Structure. This allows me to know if my story has a good enough structure, has the necessary scenes that a reader expects when they pick up my book, and much more etc.
After this comes more rewriting, asking for feedback, and editing until I reach a point where I’ve done the best I can with the book. This is where you want to be when you decide to start querying agents.
Sometimes I take it a step further and seek opportunities where I can obtain feedback on a couple of chapters of my book from an editor or an agent like this or this. Although writing can be subjective, they have industry experience and can offer some guidance that would help grow your writing.
Before submitting to agents, make a list of agents you’d like to represent your work. There are several ways to find agents – one of my favourite ways is reading the acknowledgement page of books I’ve enjoyed and making a note of the author’s agent. Here are also some resources I found useful:
In the coming weeks, I’ll delve deeper into the process of finding an agent!
💜 The Community Asks
Addressing a response to: What’s your biggest fear about writing?
My writing is not good enough. I have 100 ideas and yet no finished story.
Here I addressed the idea of never being satisfied with what I write, and I would like to expand on this further, as I’m currently struggling with the thought that I’m not a good writer. This tends to happen when writing isn’t going smoothly and I can’t seem to figure out the reason behind it.
The current draft I’m working on has felt like pulling teeth, but one thing I’ve found helpful is documenting the progress I’ve made with my writing. By that I mean, paying attention to my strengths in writing. This can be quite tricky because writing is a lonely craft, so sometimes we don’t know what we’re doing well, but this is also why I find having a community beneficial.
When we share our work within a writing group and give each other feedback, it not only motivates us, but also gives us room to grow. We find out areas we need to learn more about and can do better on, but with the aid of people who are on a similar journey and rooting for us.
The other thing that keeps going with one idea, even though a million other ideas are vying for my attention, is accountability. When I decide to focus on a project, I set goals and share my plans with a few people. Knowing that they’ll be checking in on me regularly pushes me to show up to do the work. But what I also find useful is when I feel stuck, I can be transparent with them, and sometimes through our conversations, I can uncover what’s making me stuck.
So if you have too many ideas, I’ll suggest choosing one and sticking with it (I know it’s easier said than done!), but with a goal in mind. For example, if you’d like to submit to the Bath Novel Award with a deadline next year, you can work backwards to figure out how to get there.
Something else to address is going from idea to finished book is not an easy feat at all. So how can you break this huge task into smaller ones with milestones?
✍🏾 Writing Prompt
Great story stems from strong characters. Here’s a prompt to experiment with:
Choose a character from a story you’re working on or make up a new character, and write a scene where they confront their biggest fears
⚡️Creative Opportunities
I’m subscribed to several newsletters relating to writing news, and they usually include information about writing contests, competitions and other opportunities to grow your craft. I’ll be including links to them in this section.
Disabled Poets Prize 2023: Deaf and disabled poets will be able to submit to three categories – best single poem, best unpublished pamphlet, and best poem performed in British Sign Language. In each category, there will be a first place prize (£500), second prize (£250), third place prize (£100), and three highly commended entries (£50).
Know Your Publishing Options (Free Course): The world of publishing can be confusing and intimidating. This course is your map to navigating the different paths to publication, from the traditional Big 5 to self-publishing. Along the way you'll find out about the emerging possibilities of social and online publishing and learn how to identify and avoid the scams.
Feedback Opportunity: Spread the Word is pleased to be partnering with Madeleine Milburn agency for a1-2-1 feedback opportunity. From Thursday 1 September, we will be accepting submissions for literary fiction and narrative no-nfiction. You need: synopsis, cover letter and an extract of your project (3000 words). Deadline: 30 September 2022
V. S. Pritchett Short Story Prize: For writers in the UK, Ireland and Commonwealth countries, between 2000-4000 words. Deadline: Friday 16 September 2022 at 5pm (BST)
Awards and prizes are a great way to put your work out there, obtain some feedback and gain some recognition in the writing sphere.
If you have any questions about these or need another eye on your work, feel free to drop me an email!
📚What I’m currently reading + have enjoyed
The Writing Life by Annie Dillard
Winter Hours by Mary Oliver
Beneficial thread on story structure
🎁 Giveaway
In anticipation of next week’s author interview, you can now enter the giveaway for this month! Fill in this form for a chance to win a copy of the Annemarie’s picture book, I am Nefertiti
P.S. I’ll be doing more of these over time, particularly for craft books I’ve found beneficial, so watch this space!
And that’s it, folks! If you enjoyed reading this and found it beneficial, why not spread the word?
Wishing you a blessed and splendid weekend! I’ll be back in your inbox next Friday :)
Till next time,
Suad x