Writing for Young Readers: How to Stay in Touch When You’re all Grown-Up (yeah, i know, i don’t know how that happened either)

On my way home for lunch, I saw a bunch of teenagers, masks on, walking back to school in small groups.

They’re lucky to go to school.

They weren’t sure about that a year ago, when this all started. Now they are.

Tears suddenly tickled my eyes.

Such a small thing, depriving those youngsters of living their dreams of being actors, musicians, scientists, athletes.

The thought occur to me many times before, especially when I stopped being a book clerk specializing in children literature (back then, I was in contact with kids, teachers, librarians (it was so much fun !) and I was able to get a sense of what was going on nowadays), but is now more preponderant: how to stay in touch with your target readers when you’re a grown-up.

Continuer la lecture

A Rom-Com Novel Writing Project: February

Into the First Draft

I started the first draft way later than I planned. Without my February Creative Writing challenge, I have a feeling I would’ve start even later.

By later, I mean I started… one day before the end of the month.

There’s a bit less romantic snowfalls now, you know the kind rom-com movies can never get right.

Spring is waving from far, snow is melting, turning brown with all the gross abrasives stuff. It’s slushy, icy, still cold.

We’re not in winter wonderland anymore!

What Took You So Long ?

I started a new thing this February: a therapy.

Once a week, I see a psychologist. It got that bad.

I couldn’t shake off the anger, the yelling, the guilt, the tiredness, the sadness no more. No matter I deep I dived in my writing project worlds, I felt I’d became the worst version of myself.

As far as writing goes, all the characters were suffering from it too. They were either unbelievably cheerful or so gloomy-doomy, I find myself going through a lot a re-writes.

And, In a Christmas Rom-Com novel, gloomy-doomy moods are strictly forbidden!

I kept working on the outline though, in order to write the cleanest first draft possible.

A Detailed Outline

I used to be a discovery writer. That meant re-writing a writing project two, three, four times. Yep, this kind of process it’s time consuming and a bit frustrating on the long run.

Writing a simple outline works so-so for me, since I feel I have to re-write the whole thing every time the story takes a turn I did not taught of before, and is actually better than what I had planned.

For the Christmas Rom-Com writing project, I wrote a very detailed outline and a very detailed backstories. Since in backstories you go for the main events that shaped the character to the point where the reader meets her-him-them, it was easy perfect for my sad-tired-discouraged February mood.

Chapter One : Where to Start

Big dilemma. Where should chapter one start?

It’s a Christmas Rom-Com novel. OF COURSE there’s gonna be a happy ending. OF COURSE the Main characters – in this case, classic female-male relationship – will end up together.

The biggest challenge is to meet the readers expectations and exceed them, in order to have them say « this book is impossible to put down, wow, it’s amazing, best rom-com ever ».

Where I started first is boring. Common. Very linear. Cliche.

In short, not good.

That’s where I’m at with that writing project. And why I’m writing a blog post instead of working on the first draft!!!

Dear fellow writers, thanks so so much for tagging along with me in my crazy writer quest to earn a living writing novels.

May all the good words flow your way. Until next time!

Before the Sun

It makes me so happy when I can wake up before the sun to work on a writing project. Well, when I can wake up by myself that is.

Being woken up by a kiddo climbing on me and then grabbing my head for a hug – it’s adorable, although I do wish I wouldn’t get hit on the nose, cheeks or eyes so often – puts me in a quite less creative writing mood.

Anyway, waking up alone in the dark, sometimes wrapped in many blankets to keep the early morning cold feeling at bay, with only the characters and me and the wonderful world of imagination makes me feels happy.

I would even go a bit spiritual on you, dear fellow writers, and say that writing while the sky slowly brighten makes me feel like I’m at the right place, doing what I’m supposed to do.

True, being able to work on creative writing project always makes me feel that way, but it feels particularly true when the morning stars are getting ready for bed time.

There’s still several hours to go before I have to get kiddo ready for day-care, or get ready myself for the day job – when I have one that is. And somehow tea always taste better before the sun rises.

I’m getting things ready the evening before, so when I open the laptop, the first thing I see is the writing project I wanna work on. It’s help not being tempted to take a quick look at the to-do list of the day, or go check my emails quickly-quickly.

Sure, after a while I will go say hello to the #5amwritersclub on Twitter for five minutes or so. It’s encouraging to know that other writers are looking for the words too.

Or I will come here, and share the writing happiness with you, dear fellow writers.

There, I did it, and I hope these words finds you well and safe, with all the good words at the tips of your fingers.

Until next time !